


Walls Painted Purple

by Dragonheiress374



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Art School, Angst, Art, Blood and Injury, Cute, Dark Past, Fic, Fluff, Love, Love Triangle, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Purple, Slow Burn, University, Voltron, art gallery, cute dates, dance, good things, im running out of tags, klangst, lots of cute things, museum, some bad things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-10-20 11:03:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 50,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10661241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonheiress374/pseuds/Dragonheiress374
Summary: "You need to stop acting like you don't have a huge fucking crush on him."****Lance is fresh into a University of the Arts when things go wrong. An apartment fire turns his world upside down. With nowhere else to go Lance is forced into living arrangements with the slightly moody Keith Kogane. Lance finds unexpectedly that Keith starts to play a bigger and bigger role in his life. Things change and change again when Lance meets Lotor, the elusive pretty gay with a powerful family. Jealousy and possessiveness run high. Lance finds that some intentions aren't always kind, and people may be more fragile and broken than they seem.





	1. The Club is on Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this out of complete spontaneity, and have since decided that it's worth keeping up. I really like writing it, so my hope is that you'll like reading it!  
> Please comment if you have any suggestions or critiques. I really love hearing back from you guys!

The rain poured down in a torrent. It soaked the earth and was running down the streets in large streams. The cars drove through splashing water to both sides of the vehicle, the people inside comfortably dry. Lance adjusted his glasses on his nose and squinted. The drops on the lenses made it difficult to see. But it's not like it was much better without glasses anyways. Lance was in a shit mood. He had woken up to a leaky ceiling in his little apartment, all because of this typhoon type storm. Not to mention that because he had to find something to catch the water from the leak he was late. And being late maned that he had missed his bus. So yeah. Everything was great. He was on his way to the State University of the Fine Arts. He was taking a few English courses there. He aspired to write, he had always loved the idea of exploration. And space. Space had entranced him since he was a little kid. But he was stuck on earth because of his not so perfect vision. Becoming an astronaut was tough. And having a stigmatism in his right eye meant that he was out of the space race. So he escaped through writing adventures, of people that went to space to find aliens. He really enjoyed it, although he was still a little bitter about the astronaut thing.

He was also bitter because of all this goddamned rain. It wasn't coming down straight. More angular because of the wind. So despite having an umbrella he was still wet. And miserable. He snorted at the not straight rain thing. Maybe he was like it in that sense. 

He went over his mental calendar. He knew he wasn't teaching any classes today. So maybe he'd take the studio for himself. He also taught ballet classes in the university. It helped pay his rent, and it was something he enjoyed. Not to mention the kids that he taught were little rays of sunshine and he loved being around them. There wasn't too many male dance teachers around. Lance knew that because he had also grew up dancing. It was a Cuban thing or something, his ma had told him. They were extravagant people. Lance had laughed at that. Now that he was older he also found the astronaut ballerina thing funny. That was what he wanted to be when he was really little. He even had his ma make him a tutu and space helmet just so he could play with them on. Good times. 

He had almost managed to distract himself entirely from the torrential downpour when he reached the university. His Classical Lit teacher was not going to be amused that he was late. He practically ran down the halls. Too late. The door was closed. He knocked and waited outside until the professed came to get him. Mrs Haggar, an old woman with greying hair and a constant scowl greeted him at the door. She motioned for him to enter. 

"Ah, nice of you to actually show up McLean. However the class would've been much better if you had not shown at all, rather than coming through my door late and soaking wet. Disrupting my class." 

Lance bowed his head in shame. He heard a few people snicker throughout the class. He tried to ignore it. He walked up to his usual seat in the back only to find that somebody had taken it. Lance usually would have been mad if this man had not been so damn pretty. With soft black hair and a sculpted jawline Lance was already interested. They made eye contact for a brief moment as Lance passed by. His eyes were the most beautiful shade of deep blue, almost purple. Lance ended up in the top row of the lecture hall. Usually the top row was the least crowded. Just because this class had a high competitive feel to it, and Mrs Haggar picked favourites. Usually the ones in the front. And she was known to give out better grades to her favourites.

Lance sat and tried to listen, taking notes when needed, but this pretty boy sitting in his spot held his attention. Lance had never noticed him before today. Or maybe he was new, because Lance was usually pretty good at recognizing people. Especially the ones that held special attention to him, the pretty girls and the hot guys. Lance knew it was plausible for this new guy to have just joined today. They were now three days into the semester. Lance wondered what his name was. His question was answered soon after when the mystery guy raised his hand to answer a question. 

"Yes, Mr Keith Kogane. That would be correct." Mrs Haggar said and smiled.  
Huh. Keith. Lance was pretty sure that this guy looked more like a Jacob, or a Max.  
The bell rang signalling the end of the class. Lance got up and collected  his things. He watched Keith go and damn. That ass. 

Lance got up and walked out of the lecture hall into the big hallways crowded with people. He decided that he was going to the studio right away before heading off to his next class later in the day. Psychology.

Dance was a good way to release but the only problem was that he had to walk all the way to the upper levels of the university to get there. And there was almost nothing Lance hated more than stairs. Because despite being particularly athletic he always found himself panting and legs cramping when he got to the top? Like, why? Before he could contemplate more on the horrible torture that was climbing stairs he knocked into his two best friends. Or more like they ran into him. Pidge poked Lance in the back.

“Hey Lance. To the dance room again?” Pidge asked adjusting her glasses. She had this sort of boyish look to her that kind of made everyone question if she was actually a girl. Hunk sped up to take the same pace as Lance on his other side. Lance knew that Hunk hated the stairs more than Lance did. And usually told Lance to shut up when he complained about it, with some sort of comment that went like, “at least you dance? I’m way outta shape because culinary school is a thing.” 

“Yeah.”

“Why? Don’t you have a class later? Are you sure you should be working out, it’ll just make you sore before your classes tonight.” Hunk asked Lance sounding concerned. Take Hunk to be the one always concerned about everyone’s well being.

“I need to go dance off some sexual frustration. And no, we don’t have class tonight.” Lance said jokingly.

“A new pretty girl in class?” Pidge asked curious.

“A pretty boy. His name is Keith or something, and I’m pretty sure he already has all the girls in the class cooing over him.”

“Ha man, you don’t have a chance.” Pidge snickered.

“Shut up Pidge. I can’t just assume that everybody is straight. Beside, who isn’t gay for some of this?” Lance cocked one eyebrow at Pidge and gestured to himself.

“Well I could make you a list if you really wanted me to.” Pidge said shrugging.”But it might take too long and I don’t actually have all the time in the world.” 

“Roasted.” Hunk chuckled.

“Ugh. Just because you guys can’t appreciate the ethereal beauty that is me, doesn’t mean you have to state it.” Lance groaned.

“Well we gotta go to class. But see you later?” Hunk asked. Pidge followed him away. Hunk was part of the culinary arts classes at the University, but he was also taking pottery which confused Lance a little, well, you have to make plates and bowls to eat out of. Hunk was the soft caring guy that almost everybody liked, Lance had known him since elementary. Pidge was much more tech-y and was in all of these digital art classes, animation, multimedia, you name it. And it’s probably just because she was gifted with the god given ability to make tech things work. It was almost unnerving and sometimes Lance wondered if she was actually a robot. Being a tech whizz and a walking dictionary made her seem, not quite human, just because the super low rate of error. She was also like two years younger than Lance, however they ended up  graduating at the same time.

After climbing the million stairs that led up to the dance and theater practice rooms Lance felt like dying. As per the usual. He walked slower and tried to keep his panting to a minimum. At least this part of the university was nice. It had large arched windows on one side of the hall, and the rooms on the other. It was a popular place that campus tours would always come to, just because it was really old and mostly deserted. Lots of the other classes that had been her had been relocated to the newer side of the university. Leaving this hallway mostly always empty. Now the rooms were stuffed with extra desks, file cabinets, old theater props, and other assorted junk. The ones left untouched were the practice rooms. And an art studio that was still here because of the good lighting. Lance knew about art, but he didn’t really care anymore. He had given up painting.

He had also almost given up dancing at that same time years ago. It was a shitty point in his life.  
One that he did well not to remember. 

There wasn’t much light coming through the windows, because of the great typhoon outside, so when Lance passed by the art studio he found it deserted. Which was fine by him. Art students were odd, he had only been asked twice to model. He didn’t take those opportunities, mostly because he didn’t have time, and also being exposed and stared at for extended periods of time was unnerving. 

He opened the old wooden door to the dance studio. It was big, long and for the most part, very well kept up. The floors were nice, the mirrors on two sides of the room were well cleaned, the bars circling the rest of the room were nicely painted black and sturdy, the class could hold quite a few kids. The only windows where the arched ones on the same side as the door. They let the light in from the halls, and it was really satisfying to dance with the lights off in the room, only using the natural sunlight coming through the windows to illuminate the studio. Today was not one of those days. He closed the blinds, not liking to be watched by passerbys. Lance took off his sweater he wore to school today and exchanged it for a tight fitting black tank top. He had also prepared to come right here after class so he had worn his favourite black Adidas sweats, that fit really nice, and were very good to dance in. Lance looked at himself in the mirror. Maybe  
black was his colour. 

He walked over to the stereo he pulled off his glasses and set them on it. Plugging the aux cord into his phone he opened up his favourite playlist. And even though ballet was his calling, he liked the artistic feel to more lyrical and pop songs. And right now he had an affinity for electronic dance music. Which sometimes he thought was an odd thing to dance to, but combining hip hop and jazz styles was fun. Dance is an art, and when his old teachers would correct him on a move in his solos, he used to tell them, ‘artistic licence,’ which got him in trouble more than a few times but that was fine. It was probably also the reason that his jazz/ lyrical teacher hated him for most of his dance career in a studio. Lance just liked to dance now. Combine styles. With nobody to tell him what to do and how to do things, he felt more free than when he danced in a studio. He might miss the competitions now, but that was the only part.  
Lance stretched out his muscles for the first few songs. He worked out his abs and arms a bit before a really good song came on. He had made some choreography for the first bit of the song, but the rest was just freestyle. He had to keep his strength and technique, so free dance was the best way to do it. Jete’s across the floor, switch split jumps (His personal favourite), axles, russians, and numerous turns were all things he worked on. But then he would let go. And do whatever he wanted. 

The music made him feel, and he tried to convey that through moves and steps that he would come up with. Timed with the beat of the song, highs and lows that either required jumps or floorwork. He just let himself be free. 

After a solid hour of dance, making a pretty good workout, Lance changed and left the studio. An hour of dance honestly felt like no time at all when all there was was him and the music.  
He had to get to psych soon-ish, but first to get some food. He walked down to the cafeteria in the school to find something to eat. On his way there he passed Keith on the stairs. He was chatting with some girls, mildly awkward to look at, probably much more awkward to be part of. Obviously Keith didn’t have the same charm that Lance did, because the girls looked mildly frustrated that Keith didn’t say much. Just before Lance passed by Keith looked up to make eye contact with him for a second. It broke right away. Lance had listened to them as they passed. Some petty topic about classes.

Lance pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. The clock read 11:43. Afternoon classes started at 12:30. He noticed he also had a few messages from Pidge and Hunk. They were asking where he was and if he’d come to lunch with them. Lance unlocked his phone and typed back a quick response. It vibrated in his hand right after he sent the message. Pidge said they were sitting along the western hall. Lance grabbed something to eat. Chicken caesar salad, which was literally the only decent salad. Because usually salad just sucked, tasting like leaves and sticks. Well, maybe that was an overstatement. 

Lance walked down the western hall until he spotted his friends sitting at a table along by the windows. Hunk waved at him as he came over to sit down. Pidge was too intensely focused on  
something on her laptop. She seemed to have barely even noticed when Lance walked up. 

"Hey. How was the dance studio?" Hunk asked. 

"Same as always. Though it was too dark to turn all of the lights off. And the hallway was dead."  
Hunk just shrugged. 

"As to be expected." He sighed dramatically swinging his head to look out the window at the cloud covered sky and pouring rain. 

"Do you think it'll ever let up?" Hunk asked. 

"Tonight at 10pm." Pidge stated looking over the rims of her round glasses. 

"Thanks Pidge."

"No prob." She replied. 

They were left in silence the only sound was the patter of raindrops hitting the window and sounds of Pidge typing on her laptop. Lance was the one to break the silence. 

"I saw Keith again. You know pretty boy, in my classic lit class?"

"Yeah thanks Lance. I'm completely stupid and don't remember anything more long term than half an hour earlier." Pidge replied sarcastically. Lance ignored the comment. Hunk just nodded. 

"I'm more sure he's not straight. Because I told you of how the girls drool over him? Yeah, he's super awkward around them." Lance said triumphantly. 

"Wow Lance. We've moved on from a petty crush to full blown stalker in an hour? Well I guess I'm not really surprised, that does seem like a you thing to do." Pidge said smiling. 

"Pidge shut up." Lance muttered. 

"You've got a lot of interest in this guy? It's kinda a new thing. Especially for you. Just saying." Hunk replied shrugging. 

"I can have interest in someone? It's a free country. God Bless America." Lance said jokingly.

"Yeah. But you don't need to obsess over him." Pidge stated. Lance shrugged and finished his food. 

"Do you guys wanna do something tonight?" Lance asked. 

"Like what?" Hunk asked. 

"A new club opened up not too far from my apartment. From what I've heard it's really good." Lance suggested.

“Y’know. I’m not really one to go clubbing. Plus I’m underage.” Pidge stated.

“Ugh, I know. It’s annoying. Why didn’t you just graduate at a normal time, like normal people. And not two years early.” Lance groaned.

“I’m gonna have to sit this one out Lance. But maybe you could ask Allura? She enjoys that kind  
of thing.” Hunk said. 

Lance’s stomach sank. It’s not like Allura and him were on bad terms, it was just that Lance felt awkward around Allura. It had been over a year since he confessed his feelings to her and got shot down. They had been spending some time together, but even Pidge and Hunk could feel the awkward tension.

“Yeah. I’ll text Allura. I think it’d be great for you two to build back your relationship.” Pidge  
smirked.

“No! Don’t you dare. I’m not ready to be alone with her again…” Lance whined and tried to grab Pidges phone. Pidge turned around in her seat evading Lance’s hands. Lance heard Pidge’s phone ring, or more like growl. Because Pidge had an automated lion’s growl as her ringtone. Lance thought it was dumb.Lance also knew that both Allura and Hunk liked it.

“Aaaand… Yup. She wants to go with you. I guess it’s set then.” Pidge grinned at Lance over her shoulder.

“No backing out?” Lance asked hopefully.

“No way. Both you and her know that you need to fix this awkwardness that happened. So you have to go. Besides I think she’s only in town for a little while longer. I think her company leaves within the next two weeks. You might not see her again for a couple months afterwards.” Pidge stated.

“Fine. Get her to text me when she wants to go.” 

“She says she’ll meet you at your place around eight.” Pidge said, staring down at her phone.  
“This is good Lance. You’ll finally be able to rebuild.” Hunk smiled. Trust Hunk to say that. Lance had already decided that Hunk would be a Hufflepuff if they went to Hogwarts. Like Pidge was a Ravenclaw, and Allura probably a Ravenclaw as well. Lance was a Gryffindor. If any of those online tests had any meaning. He had always gotten Gryffindor. Lance laughed internally at that, he was such a nerd. And his glasses probably showed that as well. Lance checked his phone.

“Shit. Next class starts soon.” Lance swore standing up from the table and collecting his things.  
“See you guys around.” Lance said walking in the direction of his class.  
“Bye Lance.” Hunk waved.

“Don’t cancel on Allura. She’ll hate you forever.” Pidge scolded waving as well.  
Lance shook his head. It’s not like she didn’t already dislike him. Lance was still pretty sure she was just trying to cover things up. He sighed. May as well give it a shot at rebuilding their friendship they had before.

Lance sat through another hour and a bit of another dull class. Lance found himself looking for Keith when he walked into the class. But sure enough he wasn’t in this class. Lance was almost happy. It meant he could pay attention without too much of a distraction. It’s not like there wasn’t enough eye candy in this class anyways. A whole group of pretty girls sat in front of him. He was at a loss as to why they always seemed to group together. It meant that you could never get one alone, not to mention anything said or done would be spread among the group. It was common, and Lance didn’t have anything against it, but sometimes it made him nervous. Knowing that nothing he said or did would remain private. 

At the end of class he sped out of the class. The next bus was coming in fifteen minutes and he didn’t want to be late for it. In his hurry he didn’t notice someone turn the corner ahead of him, and Lance ran straight into them. 

It knocked him to the ground, and it seemed that the person he had ran into had also fallen over. Lance also noticed that the hallway seemed pretty dead. He blushed, trust him to run into the only person in sight.

“In a hurry? Well I’ll forgive you for pushing me over, but only because you’re so pretty.” A musical, and yet masculine voice chimed. Lance took that as the perfect moment to take a good look at the boy who he had ran into. He was definitely very beautiful, with carved cheekbones and an angular jaw. HIs eyes were a nice amber, bordering on gold. And to top it off he had pale silver hair, that hung past his shoulders, and a darker complexion. Almost alike to Allura.  
“Oh, uh, I’m really sorry.” Lance blushed running a hand through his own short chestnut coloured hair.

“I’ll most definitely forgive you if you give me two things. One, I need your name, and two, your number?” The man smiled at him. He stood and helped Lance to his feet.

“Oh, okay. My name is Lance McClain, and here,” Lance pulled out a notebook and a pen, tearing out a small piece he wrote his phone number down. He handed it to the him, who folded and pocketed the small slip of paper.

“Well Lance. Maybe I’ll text you sometime?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I’ve got to go.” The silver haired boy started walking off.

“And by the way, my name is Lotor.” Lotor called over his shoulder.

Lance was left there stunned. Coming back to his senses he hit himself.

“Dammit McClain. You’re socially inept. You know that?” Lance muttered to himself. He was still slightly embarrassed over the whole encounter. But with little time to worry about things like that he sped off again, this time watching more carefully for anyone he could potentially run into. And what was with today? Two encounters with two equally beautiful males. Lance was almost sure it was going to literally start raining men. “Hallelujah.” Lance mumbled to himself grinning.

Luckily this time he wasn’t actually late for the bus, he had made it just in time. The rain hadn’t let up at all, so he was wet again boarding the bus and then getting into his apartment. 

He walked up the creaky stairs in the building to the third, and top floor. Unlocking his apartment he found that the leaks were still dripping, and had accumulated over the course of the day. Lance took some time to empty out the buckets and replace them under the drips. Lance sighed. The apartment wasn’t terrible. Close-ish to the school and not terribly pricey. He didn’t want to live in res, so here he was, with his own apartment. It might leak, but it was still decent in size. With one bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a living area it wasn’t huge, but it was cozy. 

He didn’t have much to do over the time that he was going to spend waiting for Allura, so he just wasted some time watching Netflix and working on his novel. Soon enough it was six, so he made himself some dinner and went to get ready to go. He ate, showered, and got dressed, just in time for the doorbell to ring. Lance walked over to the door. Opening it revealed Allura. She had her hair braided back, and was wearing a small and slightly revealing dress, from what Lance could tell, as she was still wearing her coat. She smiled at him.  
“Hey Lance. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, hey. Come in.” He replied opening to door to let her in. 

“I’m sorry I’m so early. I hope it’s not too much of a bother.” She said apologizing. She slipped off her coat and it seemed Lance had guessed correctly. Though the short skirt part of the dress was black it had a silver sort of top to it, complementing her darker skin. Lance didn’t waste too much time looking.

“Yeah, the next bus doesn’t come for like half an hour.” He replied. “You can come sit down.” He said gesturing towards the kitchen table. She obliged, pulling out a chair Lance sat down on the opposite side. There was an awkward silence.

“So you’re dressed nice, trying to impress someone?” Lance joked. Which was probably in poor taste because she had already shown clear disinterest in him. But surprisingly enough she blushed.

“Not for you dummy. No. But yeah, I met a guy and he asked me if I wanted to meet up sometime. And I might’ve dropped him a few hints that I was going to go to this club tonight, with a friend.” Lance was surprisingly unhurt by this.

“Oh, so you’re just using me. But that’s cool.” Lance smirked.

“Oh, well. Not really. I did just meet him, and I was hoping to see him around again, with a friend. Just in case. I think he’s coming.” She said.

“Yeah, that’s cool. I get it. So… How’s the Ballet company?” Lance asked. Allura was part of a dance company that travelled around, performing in different cities. She had gone to the same studio as him growing up, but because they lived so close together they were already friends. When Lance joined the studio it felt great that he knew somebody already, even if she was two levels ahead of him. Allura’s face lit up.

“Oh yeah, things are great! Except we had one male dancer accidentally fall offstage. He broke his leg, and can’t dance for a couple months now. Which was really sad, but we got a replacement right away, and damn. He’s beautiful, and can dance really well.” Allura was grinning.

“Hold on… Am I sensing a connection between this new male dancer and the guy you wanted to meet up with, but not alone?” Lance asked curiously. Allura dipped her head, Lance could see that her face had gone red again. This conversation seemed surprisingly normal as well. Like the ones they had had, before their falling out. It had hurt him before to hear her talk about guys like that when he himself had had a crush on her. But now it felt normal, the same as when he would talk about his own crushes with Pidge and Hunk. 

“You got me. Yes this would be the same guy. And speaking of which, we should probably leave soon.” She said standing up from her chair. He heels clicked on the floorboards, and Lance was left wondering how the hell she could walk in such tall tiny heels. He followed her to the door. He pulled on his coat and shoes and they left. The rain had almost let up, so the walk to the bus stop wasn’t that bad. The ride was short, just because Allura didn’t want to walk all the way to the club in her heels. They arrived at the ‘Lions den’ as it was called. The sign was fluorescent blue, green, yellow, and red, and when they walked in the doors black light spilled over the dance floor. It was loud, and they were playing some sort of EDM that Lance was really into. Allura decided that she wanted to sit down, and have a few drinks first. They walked over to the side of the club with tables and less flashing light. They ordered some drinks and chatted about the ballet company, ballet classes, Lance’s new affinity for pretty boys, and Allura’s elusive male dancer guy person. The conversation grew looser and more casual, and a lot more open. Especially because of all the drinks they had. Part of Lance knew he was going to feel this tomorrow. 

“Wait, that's him!” Allura grinned pointing across the club. She didn’t even try to be subtle. Lance’s eyes rested on two guys who had just entered the club. One was tall with an odd three toned haircut, he was definitely buff, and really pretty, but not quite Lance’s type.

“His name is Shiro, well technically it’s Takashi Shirogane, but everyone just calls him Shiro.” 

Allura said, she waved at him, he smiled back at her and walked over. Lance watched the second man carefully. The mullet seemed familiar, it took Lance’s muddled brain a bit to piece together who he was. Fucking Keith Kogane. Mullet and all. 

“Allura, wait. That’s Keith, the guy I told you about, y’know the one with the spectacular ass?” Lance whispered to Allura. Her eyes widened a bit. 

“Hey Shiro!” Allura greeted warmly, flashing a smile. Shiro grinned back.

“Hey Allura. This is Keith,” Shiro introduced, Keith nodded slightly in a greeting. “And, who’s your friend? I Haven’t seen him before.”

“This is Lance McClain. A childhood friend of mine. We went to the same dance studio for most of our youth.” Lance shook Shiro’s extended hand.

“Thats nice. Sou you two are alike to Keith and I? We grew up together in the same dance studio.” 

“Oh, Yeah. Thats neat.”

They made idle talk mostly with just Shiro. Keith seemed a little reclusive and just kept to himself for the most part. He started to open up a bit and join in a little more on the conversation when he had drank a bit. 

“I’m tired of sitting, Lance, come join me on the dancefloor.” Allura stated standing up. She dragged Lance with her onto the floor. Lance noticed her wink at Shiro over her shoulder. With that Shiro promptly stood up and followed. Keith rolled his eyes and joined. 

The music that was playing had a really prominent bass line, Lance felt alive. Maybe it was the pounding music, or maybe the copious amount of cocktails he had consumed but soon he and allura were dancing together. She grinned at As she held lances shoulders, Lance’s hands on her hips they moved their hips in sync. Lance was closely watching Keith. Keith looked slightly uncomfortable, yet he was bobbing his head and tapping one foot along to the beat. Allura leaned in a bit closer to Lance.

“Spin me, then dip me.”

“Why?” Lance asked puzzled.

“A competition.” She grinned and looked back towards Shiro who was standing alongside Keith. Lance understood and complied. He span her out, and pulled her back in. Dipping her deeply they both looked towards Shiro and Keith. Still holding her lance grinned at Keith, raising one eyebrow. Allura must have done the same to Shiro, because he leaned in and whispered something to Keith who smirked. 

To the next few beats of a new song Shiro danced alongside keith closer to them, Lance was back with his hands on Allura’s waist, moving in sync to the beat. And to Lance’s great surprise Shiro and Keith assumed the same sort of position, moving together, Shiro’s hands on Keith’s waist, Keith with his arms strung around Shiro’s neck. The two pairs danced together, circling each other.

Until another dip in the song where Allura looked at Lance expectantly, Lance understood, and dipped her again, deeper than last time. Lance almost dropped her as he watched Shiro and Keith do the same. The only thoughts going through his head were something along the lines of ‘Gayyy”, and ‘Damn”. Shiro pulled Keith out of the dip before sending him off in a spin, right towards Lance. Shiro must have thought that Lance was going to send Allura over in the same manner, but allura smiled coyly at Shiro before lance was pulled towards her and span off into the direction of Shiro. Lance was laughing at Shiro’s expression because of the change of partners. Shiro went with it however, and they resumed their competition. Lance was wayy to drunk to care that he was the ‘female’ in this partnership. He was just laughing because of how intensely focused Shiro was on Allura. The man was practically drooling. Lance knew why, she was all legs with a toned upper half, and her ass was… Just glorious. Swaying to the rhythm again Allura whispered something to Keith, he grinned. She span out, and back into him, Her back against his front, arms wrapped around each other, and then Keith held her as she dropped to the floor in a split before picking her back up. The way keith looked at Lance the whole time was enough to make Lance choke, especially because after he picked her back up he had winked. At Lance. Did that even Happen?!. Allura must have decided it was time to switch partners again. She broke from Keith and they danced closer. Shiro and Lance did the same. 

“Thanks for the dance Lance. But I think I’m going to have to part, becuase your lady friend is too damn endearing.” Shiro laughed. His cheeks were flushed, and Lance knew that they were all pretty intoxicated. 

So with that they broke apart. And a trade of partners happened again. 

The rest of the night blurred together. Keith spent plenty of time dancing with other girls on the floor, Lance doing the same. He also briefly noticed that at one point Shiro and Allura were grinding? This night was getting better and better. Keith and Lance had their eyes on each other for the entire time. Keith would wink and send coy smiles towards Lance.  
Damn, this boy is such a tease.

Then what happened after was mostly a blur. Lance danced with Keith a few times. Keith was super handsy and could swing his hips like nobody’s business. They might’ve even grinded at some point. Lance was hot, and had completely forgotten the crowd around them. The only thing he was paying attention to was the boy with purple flecked eyes and soft black hair. They were dancing really close at some point. Keith was pressed really tightly against Lance, and Lance could feel the sexual tension, and the only thing Lance was thinking of was how nice it would be to press his lips to Keith’s. How nice it would be to grab his hair and pull him closer. But the night wore on, and Lance didn’t make any move. 

Everything was a blur after that.

 

****

 

Lance groaned as a curtain was pulled open and sunlight streamed onto him.

“Lance get up. It’s twelve o’clock.” Allura’s voice shook him awake. 

Lance blinked and rubbed his eyes. He tried to look around but his head pounded in protest. 

“Owww. Can you close the blinds. It’s too bright.”

“No get up.” 

Lance actually sat up, he didn’t remember anything from the night before. He looked around to notice that he wasn’t in his house. He was laying on Allura’s couch, in her apartment.

“What… Where… Why am I here?” Lance asked suddenly confused.

“You don’t remember anything?” Allura asked. Lance looked at her again. She still had her hair braided, but she was wearing shorts and a tee shirt. 

“No? Will you tell me why I’m here?” Lance groaned as another wave of pain hit his head. A wave of nausea hit him right after.

“Oh dear god. How do I explain.” Allura shook her head. “You’re here because there was a fire. And apparently half of your apartment complex burned down.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've sold my soul to Voltron hell and there's no coming back


	2. Apartment Fires Can Suck it

Lance was having a pretty fucking terrible morning. It took Lance until two o’clock to actually get his shit together. He had taken enough advil to dull the pain in his head. Allura had made him lunch, which was nice. Lance was also wondering as to how she wasn’t dying like he was. 

“I have a higher alcohol tolerance than you. I also didn’t drink as much.” Was her reply when he asked her. 

He sat across the table from allura as they ate their lunch.

“So I have to get my things today? Or what wasn’t wrecked in the fire?” Lance asked Allura. 

“Yeah. The fire department has given it the go ahead. Apparently the side of the building that did burn was far enough away from your room. At first they didn’t want anyone in, in fear that the building would collapse because of the structural damage. But now I think they’re letting people in on the side of the complex that didn’t get destroyed.” Allura told him.

“And how do you know this?” Lance asked.

“Your landlord called this morning, while you were still passed out. I answered.” Was Allura’s curt reply. Lance just nodded. It sounded like an Allura thing to do.

“So how about after you eat we can go grab your things?” Allura suggested.

“Yeah.” We can do that. 

Lance was still wearing what he wore to the club last night. Ripped black skinny jeans and a plain white vee neck tee, so it didn’t take him long to get ready to go. Allura however took a little longer. But soon enough they were actually ready to go. Lance borrowed a few big suitcases from Allura, so he could haul out most of his things. They took the bus there.

A single fire truck was still outside the apartment when they arrived. Some of the other tenants were moving their things out. Only then did it register how extensive the damage actually was. Like allura had said, half of the building was burned, the top floor on the western side was completely ruined. The ceiling had caved in, the window glass smashed, and the scorch marks were long black streaks on the outside, going all the way down to the first floor. What wasn't destroyed Lance knew would be heavily damaged by the water used to put out the fire. They walked over to the eastern side, where Lance's apartment was. The damage on this side was less, but there still was black streaks along the outside, from the fire and heat. A firefighter stopped them as they approached. 

“Hey. I’m sorry but we’re only letting residents in.” The female firefighter smiled. 

“Yeah. Im Lance, I live in room 304.” Lance said pulling out his key to show her.

“Okay, I’m sorry. It’s just that we’ve had a lot of spectators, and reporters all claiming they live here to get in and take some pictures. I’ll escort you in.” She smiled again and led them across to the door Lance would usually come in. She unlocked it and they walked in.

The building smelled heavily of smoke. And there was a haze over the entire building, telling the story of fire and water turned steam. The smell of smoke that lay in the building wasn’t even the okay kind, like campfire smoke. No it smelled of burnt plastic and metal. Lance looked around as they climbed the stairs to his room. There was water damage along the walls, the wallpaper peeling in some spots. The carpet mushed beneath his feet. They walked to his room. Lance unlocked the door. Walking in he noticed that the smoke had heavily damaged the upper parts of the room. The ceiling was blackened and the walls weren’t much better. Lance went first to his bedroom. Allura helped him empty out his drawers, he didn’t bother pulling the blankets off the bed. He knew that the smoke smell might never wash out. He went to the bathroom, collecting the rest of his things. The water damage done to most of the electronics in the house was excessive, Lance didn’t think it was worth it to try and save any of them. Soon enough he had finished cleaning out all of his things. It was good that he wasn’t too settled in, and that most of the furniture wasn’t his. It was a bit depressing nonetheless. Lance and Allura hauled out the suitcases and Allura thanked the firefighter that helped. They called a cab, and loaded the suitcases in. Lance didn’t say much. He didn’t feel like talking. 

“Hey. I’m sorry Lance.” Allura 

“It’s not your fault.” Lance sighed.

“What are you going to do about living arrangements? I don’t think it’s too late to go see if you can get into the university residential. But you can stay with me for a little until you figure it out.” Allura suggested.

“Yeah. I think I’ll do that. Im hoping to see if I can get a room by myself. And thanks, for all you’ve done.” Lance smiled weakly at her. 

They made it back to Allura’s apartment in not too long. The rest of the day was spent washing the smoke smell out of all Lances clothes. Lance showered and changed. He worked on organizing his things. Allura had a pretty spacious apartment. And Lance was a little jealous. The reason why was probably because her dad owned Altea Ballet. 

“I think you should head down to the university. Or call into the office. You should probably figure out living arrangements.” Allura suggested. 

“Yeah I know. I think I’ll head there tonight to see if I can get in.” Lance replied standing up from his cross legged position on the floor. 

“Okay. I’m going to make supper in a bit. So be back around six, if you want to eat with me.” 

“Okay mom.” Lance smirked at Allura. She shook her head, a muttered something under her breath. 

“Don’t worry. I shouldn’t be long.” Lance said.

He walked to the door and pulled on his coat and shoes. He decided that because the University wasn’t too far from Allura’s apartment he was just going to walk. The sky  had changed from sun to a cloudy grey overcast. Lance thought it might rain again, which wouldn’t be good mostly because he hadn’t brought an umbrella with him.

The trek to the university was short and mildly uneventful. It seemed he had also arrived just in time, because the university was pretty quiet, as the last class must have just ended. He made his way down to the office, seeing a few people in the halls, but nobody he knew. The office was still open when he got there. He walked in to see a few of the office ladies working on some paperwork. He walked up to the counter. One of them smiled at him.

“Hi, can I help you?” She asked.

“Uh, yeah. I was wondering if it’s too late to see if I can move into res here. Because I had an apartment, but there was a fire. And now I do not have an apartment.” Lance grinned.

“Oh! Well usually we don’t let new people move in, as mostly everybody is already settled, but I’m sure we can make an exception. Let me just check the computer, to see if we have any rooms open.”

“I bet I can’t ask for a dorm by myself?” 

“No, sorry. Oh, and yes, we have one room still left unfilled. The guy in it had requested a private dorm, but sometimes if we have overflow we can’t make any exceptions. I’m sure you’ll get along.” The lady stood up and walked over to the printer, she pulled a few sheets of paper off of it. Walking over to lance she handed them to him.

“I just need you to fill in your information there. We’ll add living costs onto your existing school fees.” She smiled at him again.

Lance took a moment to sit down and work on filling out the sheets. They were mostly just basic information and other things, so it didn’t take him too long. After he was done he handed them back. She took them and started filling out his information on the computer.

“Okay Lance, you’ll be able to move into your room tomorrow. We just want to give the guy there some heads up before you move in. also giving you some time to figure things out before monday classes start. You’ll be in there as of Sunday. Just please come back tomorrow morning and we'll get you your key and room number.” She told him smiling.

“Okay, thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.”

Lance turned and walked out of the office. He was just going to head home but something stopped him. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Hunk and Pidge. Soon his phone vibrated. He grinned and walked out of the building and over to the dorms. He found the building and room number fairly quickly, and didn’t even get lost. He was standing outside dorm number 436, the door opened before he could knock. Hunk was the one opening the door, and Lance could see pidge in the room playing video games on a little tv. 

“Hey Lance. How’s it going? I heard about the fire. We were going to call but Allura said you were busy.” Hunk asked as Lance walked in the room. 

“Things, are okay. Could be better.” Lance sighed.

“At least the whole building didn’t burn down.” Pidge said from the couch.

“Yeah. But it’s still not very good.” Lance said before asking, “What are you playing?” 

“Overwatch.” 

“Aw yes. Widowmaker is my bitch.” 

“We’re taking turns so you’ll have to wait.”

“Fine.”

Lance sat down and played with Hunk and pidge, which was mostly entertaining. The talked a little about what Lance was doing for living arrangements. He told them that for now he was just going to stay with Allura, until sunday, where he would be able to move into his new dorm. 

“Did I tell you about last night? Disregarding the fire?” Lance asked.

“No?” Hunk replied.

“Oh, okay well. I guess there isn’t much to tell. Just that I got blackout drunk, and from what I can remember it was so lit. I think I danced, but I don’t remember with whom. It was great. Hunk you should’ve come.”  

“Not really me scene Lance.”

“You guys are so lame.” 

“Maybe. But I can still kick your ass in COD. And that has to count for something.” Hunk objected. Lance groaned. Hunk liked to bring that up a lot. Just because Lance failed so miserably playing, his KD ratio was like 2:37. 

“Call of Duty sucks. I don’t know why you like it.” Lance replied.

“You’re just mad because you can’t win against me.” Hunk teased.

“He’s right.” Pidge said in the background. 

Lance looked down at his phone. The clock read 5:45. 

“Aw shit. I got to go. Allura is making supper and she said it’ll be done around six.” Lance cried standing up. 

“Allura is basically like your mom at this point. Now that you’ve gotten over your whole boy crush thing.” Pidge joked.

“No, it’s just that she’ll be pissed if I don’t show up.” Lance retorted.

“Fine. Go.”

“I’ll see you guys around school.” Lance waved and walked out the door.

“Bye Lance.” Hunk waved back. Pidge was too focused on the game to say anything. Lance just shrugged. He headed out of the door and down through the parking lot. On his way through he noticed a really nice red car. Lance wasn’t too big of a car guy, but he was definitely able to notice something nice. Upon approaching he saw a familiar white haired guy walking from the university over towards him. It took Lance a moment for him to realize who this was. Lotor. 

Right. Lance had almost forgotten that. Not wanting to look creepy or anything Lance started walking away.

“Hey, pretty boy!” Lotor’s voice stopped him. Awkwardly he pointed to himself as Lotor approached.

“Yeah you. Lance. I’m sorry I haven’t gotten around to texting you. It’s just that things have been busy.” Lotor apologized. He smiled at Lance, flashing perfect white teeth. Lance ran a hand through his hair awkwardly.

“Yeah, it’s no problem. I’ve been occupied as well.” Lance tried to smile back.

“Oh? What is it? Because it does seem to be bothering you.” Lotor pried.

“No. It’s nothing really.”

“Really? And yet your body language says otherwise. Just a heads up, I like to think I’m pretty good at reading people.” Lotor smiled.

“Well, I was just heading back to my friends apartment. I was also just at the office looking to see if i could move into res.” Lance replied. Lotor’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“Why?”

“My apartment complex burned down.” Was Lance’s curt reply.

“Really? Wow. That sound horribly. I’m sorry.” 

“You don’t need to apologize. It hasn’t been that bad. I just needed to find new living arrangements.”

“So you found a new place in res?” 

“Yeah. I move in tomorrow.”

“I see. Because I was going to say that if you didn’t have anywhere else to stay you could always come live with me.” Lotor winked.

“You barely even know me? And I’d probably be a burden to you.” Lance objected, his face probably flushed red.

“No. My place is big enough. And it’s not like I’d get tired of seeing you around.” Lotor chimed. If Lance wasn’t already red he definitely was now. 

“Anyways. You said you were heading back to your friends apartment? I could give you a ride if you’d like.”

“No, it’s fine. I can just walk.” Lance replied. But just then the sky opened up, and rain washed over them both. Lance wondered if he had done something to offend some mystical being somewhere.  

“Are you sure about that?” Lotor laughed. “Come with me. I’d prefer driving somewhere possibly out of my way over you getting wet and catching a cold. Besides. If you really want to get wet I can help you out with that.” Lotor winked again and Lance was sure his face had gone some   
miraculous shade of purple. 

“Come on.” Lotor grinned at him. 

“Okay. Yeah, sure.” Lance mumbled.

Lotor led lance over to his car. Which just so happened to be the same fancy red one he was going to go look at moments ago. Lance had just enough time to see the symbol displaying a bull on the front of the car before Lotor unlocked the doors and Lance slid into the passenger seat. The thoughts swirling around Lance’s head at this point were something along the lines of, 

“Holy shit. This guy drives a fucking Lamborghini to school.” 

“Nice car.” Lance breathed running his hand along the door.

“Like it? My dad bought it for me before school started, as a birthday gift.” Lotor paused. “I really like it, it goes fast, and it’s really nice. It’s just that daddy dearest doesn’t really have a sense of practicality.” Lotor sighed. 

“I love the colour too.” Lance stated.

“Red was an odd choice. But I guess if you like things flashy. I’d honestly prefer silver or purple, or maybe black. But this is good too. Oh, Lance. What’s the address?” 

“It’s 2346 12th street south.”

“Okay, I can do that. And it’s not too far off my regular route, so that’s a perk too.”  
Lotor put the car into drive and they left the parking lot. It was raining harder now, and Lance was a little glad that he had accepted the ride. 

“So you for sure have a place to stay?” Lotor asked him sounding slightly concerned. 

“Why, are you still going to try and get me to stay with you?” Lance laughed nervously.

“Yes. C’mon. You wouldn’t have to pay rent, there’s always good food, and I can drive you to school.”

“I’m sure.” Lotor pouted at that.

“Well. If you ever need a place for any reason, I’ll be here.” 

“Yeah, thanks.”

“I mean it.” 

They arrived at Allura’s apartment complex only shortly after. Lance thanked Lotor for the ride and ran up to the apartment. He got there and Allura was standing at the door, arms crossed, looking slightly unamused when he entered. 

“You’re late. And who do you know that drives a fucking red Lambo, and knows you well enough   
to give you a ride?” Allura demanded as soon as he entered.

“Nice to see you too. And his name is Lotor by the way. Really pretty, and I’m sure he’s about as gay as he is attractive.” Lance stuck out his tongue at her. 

“Damn. Well. Supper is ready.” Allura stated walking into the kitchen. Lance stripped off his shoes and jacket. He walked into the kitchen to see that Allura had in fact made a full meal, and it smelled really good. Lance washed his hands and sat down across from her.

“So, Did you get into the university?” She asked him, dishing out some fried rice for herself. She handed the bowl to Lance.

“I’m already in the university.”

“Ugh. You know what I mean.”

“Yeah I did. They said that there’s one spare room that I can take.” 

“That’s lucky.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what I could have done if there wasn’t anything left.”  
“Especially because I need something with a little bit of convenience. Because Ballet classes and stuff too.”

“Yeah. You’re lucky you didn’t have classes scheduled yesterday and today.”

“I know. I got the other teacher to cover for me. I feigned ill yesterday. And then you know. My apartment burned down.” Lance smirked pushing vegetables across his plate.

“Yeah. You have to work tomorrow though right?”

“Y’know, sometimes it’s scary that you know so much about me.” 

 

“Lance come on. I’ve known you for years. Not to mention Pidge and Hunk keep me updated.” Allura stated.

“Traitorous friends.” Lance muttered. “Well, I guess that’s fine, and I don’t think they’ll have to keep you updated much anymore.”

The silence that set over the table was mostly because neither of them actually wanted to mention the break in their relationship that lasted for months. Lance was glad he was over it now, he was pretty sure Allura felt the same. They finished their meal without speaking. Lance wasn’t sure if the silence was awkward or not. He helped Allura clean up.

“I’m going to need to repack my things. I move into res tomorrow.” Lance stated.

“Okay. Do you need any help?” Allura asked.

“I think I’m okay.” Lance replied and made his way into the spare bedroom that was his place of residence for the moment. He thought Allura wouldn’t follow, but she showed up leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. 

“You didn’t say much about Sports Car Guy. I thought you were interested in Keith?” Allura asked him, it felt a little out of the blue. 

“Lotor. He’s nice, attractive. I’m not sure if I’m interested or not yet.” Lance sighed.

“And Keith?”

“Since when have you had so much interest in my love life?” Lance groaned.

“Ever since you seem to have gone full gay?” Allura joked.

“Still bi. Yeah, Keith is goddamn beautiful, but I’ve literally only seen him like, twice. And never talked to him.” 

“You still don’t remember what happened last night?”

“No? Am I missing some important detail. Some critical piece of information.” Lance asked her raising one eyebrow. Allura grinned mischievously.

“Nope. Nothing.” Allura sang.

“Now I know I’ve absolutely forgotten something really important.” 

“Nothing critical. You’ll live without remembering.” She laughed and left.

“Allura come back! What the fuck?” Lance called out. She didn’t come back. And Lance was left to his own devices, he tried to make out blurry details from what had happened, but the only thing that truly stuck out in his head was flashing lights and pounding music. Another thought flitted through his memory. Something about a dance. But it was gone as soon as it had come. Lance groaned and rested his head in his hands. This was too much stress. 

He finished off packing his things. He changed out of his clothes into a pair of starry pyjama pants. He wandered out of his room and over to the kitchen for a glass of water. Allura was seated at the kitchen table smiling down at her phone. 

“Who are you texting?” Lance asked and Allura jumped.

“Nobody.”

“Sure. I bet it’s that guy. The one you were talking about yesterday night. Shiro was his name?”

“You remember that much?”

“Yeah, but the whole club experience is mostly a blur. But then again, you aren’t denying that it’s him. So do you guys have, like, a thing?” Lance asked raising one eyebrow. Allura’s face turned slightly red.

“I wouldn’t call it that… We’re friends.”

“Oh sure.” Lance rolled his eyes. “Just go for it. He obviously likes you too. Ask him out for dinner or something.”

“I’ll do as I please.” Allura huffed.

“Ugh. Whatever.”

“Talking about guys. Maybe you should go for one of you potential interests.”

“I’ll do as I please.” Lance mimicked.

“Shut up.” 

Lance smirked at her and walked over to the cupboard. He grabbed himself a glass and filled it with ice and water.

“I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” Lance announced.

“Night.” 

Lance walked back to his bedroom. He plugged his phone in and set the water on the nightstand by his bed. He realized that he had one new message from an unknown number. It was from Lotor, asking how he was. He replied, smiling when he got another message right away.

They texted for a bit, without a purpose. It wasn’t a true conversation. But Lance found himself smiling up until he told Lotor he had to be up early and was going to bed.  
Lance was exhausted from today and the day before. He ended up drifting off to sleep. He dreamt of black haired boys with pretty purple eyes. 

 

****

 

The angry sound of his alarm clock startled Lance awake. He groaned and rolled over. Rubbing his eyes he stood up and checked his phone. No new messages. Which was okay. Lance walked into his bathroom. Stripping off his clothes he ran a really hot shower. He was trying to remember exactly what his dream was about, and why he woke up this morning feeling so happy. But to no avail, and any lingering memories seemed to wash away with the how water.   
He got out of the shower and dressed to go eat. Allura was already up. She was making pancakes by the smell that hit him as soon as he left his room.

“Morning.” She greeted.

“Morning. Need any help?” Lance offered.

“If you want you can cook the bacon. Just make sure to do mine well done. You know I hate it unless it’s crispy.” 

“Yeah, I know.”

They had breakfast done soon. And were sitting at the table.

“I’m going to miss not having you around to cook.” Lance stated absentmindedly.

“Wow.” Allura raised one eyebrow at him. 

“Wait no. Not like that. It’s just you are so much better at it than I am.” Lance stuttered.

“Chill. I can teach you some tricks when you’re not busy.” Allura laughed. 

“Yeah. Let’s do that.” Lance looked down at his phone. “The office opens soon. I should probably make my way over to the university in a bit.”

“I’ll help you with your things.”

“That’d be great. Thanks.”

Lance helped clean up. It took him a little while to actually pull his suitcases out of his room. 

“I think I got everything. Thanks for letting me stay.” Lance said.

“Yeah no problem. If you did leave anything, I’m only like a twenty minute walk away.”

“Yeah. I know.”

Allura ended up calling another taxi. The rain was still pouring down, despite having stopped briefly yesterday, so walking was out of the question. They loaded up Lance’s things again and set off for the university. 

Lance stopped in at the office quickly and Allura waited in the foyer. The same Lady was there. She gave him a key and a room number. He thanked her and walked back out to meet with Allura. They walked over to the dorms. Lance found his room. Number 243. He knocked. No   
answer.

“Do you think he’s in there?” 

“No idea.”

“Oh, okay. Well, thanks again. If you want you can leave now.”

“Yeah, I’ve got places to be soon. Things to do. I’ll call you later?” 

“Yeah, sounds good.” 

Allura said goodbye and walked back towards the main part of the university. Lance knocked again, and still there was no answer. Lance shrugged and unlocked the door. The room was dark. Lance found a light switch and flipped it on. The room was pretty small, but not terrible. Two beds sat on either side of the room. A couch was stationed along a wall. A desk beside it. It was okay. Lance shrugged and dragged his suitcases in. Dressers sat along the ends of the beds. He could tell that the bed closest to the door was occupied. A few notebooks, and a pretty large sketchbook sat on it. Lance walked over to the other bed. He sat his things down on it, and started unloading things into his empty dresser. He was finished shortly, because of his 

amazing organizing skills. He set the suitcases by the couch, making a mental reminder to drop them off at Allura’s at a later time. He took his things into the bathroom, which was fairly close to the door. Whoever lived in this room was really neat, and had organized his things by the sink. 

Lance took up some space, setting a few of his things besides the sink, the rest went into the cupboard under the sink. Lance took a look at himself in the mirror. He spent a little time adjusting his hair, and making himself look a bit more presentable, as the rain and wind had messed it up. 

Lance walked back towards his bed and sat down. He pulled out his phone to text Allura and tell her that he had finished unpacking, and that he was going to need to come drop off her suitcases soon. As soon as he hit send he heard the door being unlocked and watched as his new roommate walked in. They made eye contact and it took Lance an instant to figure out who it was. Black mullet. Purple blue eyes. Just his luck. He was going to be rooming with beautiful boy Keith Kogane himself. 

Lance noticed as Keith’s eyes widened slightly. Lance also noticed how Keith muttered ‘fuck’ under his breath.

“Hey, My name is Lance McClain. And I guess I’m going to be sharing a dorm with you for the   
rest of the year.” Lance greeted. Keith stepped into the room.

“I’m Keith Kogane. And as long as you keep to yourself I’m sure we won’t have any problems.” Keith replied rather coldly, which made Lance wonder what he had already done to offend Keith. Or maybe he was just a dick. But that still didn’t explain Keith’s odd reaction when he had walked in.

Keith walked in to collect a few of his things off of his bed.

“Can I make a few ground rules?” Keith asked.

“Yeah..?” 

“Don’t touch my stuff, and make sure to keep your shit clean.” Keith paused. “I don’t like this any more than you probably do. So as long as you keep to yourself we should be fine.” With that Keith turned around and walked out the door.

“Wow. What a fucking dick.” Lance muttered.


	3. Mario Kart is a Dangerous Game

Lance didn’t wait around for Keith to come back. He was trying to keep a positive outlook on things. It could be worse. It’s not like they were required to be friends or anything. And Lance didn’t want to spend too much time in his dorm anyways. So with that he left. Allura messaged back some time later about picking up the suitcases tonight. Lance wasn’t sure what he was going to do. Maybe he should just head up to the dance room. Work on some things a bit. He had classes that started at one and went until five. So he did have some time to waste until then. Lance walked through the university all the way up to the older part of the building. The clouds still hung over the sky, so the hallway was still pretty dark. One of the classrooms along the way was open. Lance didn’t see it with it’s doors open much so he looked in, out of curiosity. 

The classroom was big, and looked not very much like a classroom at all. The ceiling was as tall as the dance rooms, there was a lot of open space, with very few desks. Instead the room was cluttered with benches, esals, drafting tables, and other large tables. Overall it made a pretty nice looking art studio. Lance wondered what was taught in it. Maybe it was just some generic art class. There was also very few students around, some sat at the tables, others worked on paintings. Then lance noticed someone. Someone wearing a dumb red coat and sporting a black mullet. Lance high-tailed it out of there before he was spotted.

The dance room was open, nobody in it. So lance took some time to figure out what he wanted to do with today’s classes. He was back to wearing his regular dancewear, and was working on a new piece for the class when the door creaked open. Lance paused and looked to see a girl enter the studio. She was tall, and seemed to be pretty strong, but pretty nonetheless. 

“Um, hey, Are you the regular instructor here? Lance?” She asked. Lance smiled at her and walked over.

“Yeah, that would be me. Looking to sign up for some classes or something?” Lance asked her.

“Oh, no. Not really. It’s just that I’m usually in the class nearby, and I’m working on a collection of art pieces for one of my big projects. And I was wondering if I could come in sometimes and use you as a drawing reference?” She asked timidly.

“Yeah okay, but I don’t know your name?”

“Oh! I’m Shay. And you’d be okay having me here to work on some sketches and stuff? We really don’t get any good reference models in the class. At least ones that can’t move like a dancer, and don’t have the right range of motion.” 

“Yeah. It should be fine. It’s just that I’ve got some classes soon so I guess you can hang around until they start to show up.” 

“Great. Thanks a lot!” She exclaimed. She hugged her sketchbook to her chest and sat in front of one of the mirrored walls. 

Lance wasn’t too bothered by the fact that he had an audience. She mostly kept to herself and worked quietly. Sometimes she would ask him to pause and hold a pose for a little, but not very often. So Lance was okay with it. Soon the first members of his one o’clock class started to show up, so Shay thanked him and left. 

Coaching ballet for three hours and jazz/ contemporary for another was difficult. And at the end he was panting pretty heavily. The kids liked him to be really into their class, and pointe was just difficult to teach in itself. Not to mention that the contemporary dance he had chosen bordered on jazz, and he had to get really into it to teach the kids exactly what he wanted. He walked out of the dance room a fine sheen of sweat over him. He hurried back down to his new dorm where he planned on taking a shower. 

He knocked once when he got there. Nobody answered so he assumed it was empty. He opened the door, and realized that it was actually not. Keith was sitting at the desk sketching something out. He didn’t even say hi. Lance was still a little salty about the fact that his roommate was salty. He dropped his dance things off on his bed and headed for the shower.  
The warm water helped soothe his sore muscles and he spent a fair amount of time just standing there. His peace was shattered when he heard loud knocks on the door.

“Dude, hurry the fuck up. I have places to be and you just can’t hog all the hot water.” Keith’s voice resonated through the door. Lance rolled his eyes. He finished off and wrapped himself in a towel. Shit. He forgot to bring clothes into the room with him, he was used to just walking from the shower to his bedroom when he was living by himself. He shrugged. It couldn’t be that weird. They were both guys. Lance unlocked and opened the door. Keith was sitting on the couch and when he heard the door open he  jumped up.

“Took you long enou…” Keith started but stopped when he saw Lance with only a towel wrapped around his hips. Keith looked away quickly enough, and Lance didn’t notice that Keith’s face had turned slightly red.

“Ugh, put some clothes on!” Keith stuttered sounding a bit flustered. Lance raised one eyebrow. Sure, he had just come out of the shower, and there was probably still some droplets of water sparkling across his chest and back. And sure his towel was slung a little low across his hips, but Lance didn’t think for a second that he was too indecent. 

“Why, don’t you like what you see?” Lance purred.

“Fuck… No, just put some clothes on.” Keith demanded and made a beeline for the bathroom, slamming the door in Lance’s face. Lance mentally scolded himself for flirting with a (most likely) straight guy. Because if things weren’t awkward before, they should be now. 

He sighed and walked over to his dresser. He pulled on some clothes quickly and checked his phone. Allura had texted the group asking if they wanted to have supper and a games night at her place. Hunk had texted back an approval, but as long as it didn’t go too late, as someone (Pidge) had classes early tomorrow. Allura had also said that she was bringing someone else to games night, and told the group chat to behave. Lance texted back that he could come, and would be on his way soon. Hunk and Pidge texted saying that they had already left not too long ago. Lance said that he was annoyed they didn’t wait for him.

The skies were still overcast, but the rain had been on and off all day. Lance hoped that it would rain on him. He pulled on his green bomber jacket, grabbed the empty suitcases, and left. Lance enjoyed the quiet and scent of fresh rain on his way over. He liked the scent after a rainstorm, but in the city it was a little more synthetic. His home, in rural Arizona, was especially nice after a rain. And it was warm, unlike here where it felt really cold for most of the time. They were already moving into fall, and Lance wasn’t terribly excited about winter. When it snowed. Lance shook off those thoughts and focused on his journey to Allura’s apartment. It didn’t take long for him to make it there. He walked into the apartment building and made his way up to Allura’s apartment. The building was nice and had an elevator. 

Lance knocked on the wooden door of Allura’s apartment. Pidge was the one who answered the door. Hunk was seated at the table chatting with Allura, who was working in the kitchen. 

“Hey guys, How are things?” Lance asked stepping inside the apartment, wheeling the suitcases in he just set them by the door.

“Good.” Pidge replied going to sit back down at the table.

“Yeah, Things are great.”

“Hey Lance, did you want to come help me with supper?” Allura asked.

“Why don’t you ask Culinary Expert Hunk?” Lance asked.

“If I recall correctly, it was you who wanted to learn more about cooking. So come here.” Allura demanded.

“Okay.” Lance moved over to help Allura. “But don’t you have a radio or something? Something to play music while you cook?” 

“Yeah, there’s a stereo over there. You can bring it over and plug your phone in.” Lance nodded and walked over to a desk with a stereo on it. He brought it closer, setting it on the kitchen island.

“I vote we don’t listen to Lance’s music because his taste is horrible.” Pidge butted in.

“Pidge shut up. I listen to great music.”

Lance plugged in his phone. He opened his favorite playlist, a mix of old pop songs and new ones, as well as his favorite electronic dance music. Shakira started playing. The spanish versions of the songs. 

“Here we go.” Pidge rolled her eyes. 

“Just let him have fun Pidge, we all know it’s been a rough few days for him.” Hunk scolded.

“Fine.” 

Pidge and Hunk went back to talking about something along the lines of computer programming, Lance didn’t listen in, because what they were saying had no significance, and made almost no sense.

Allura coached him on what to do, they were making chicken cacciatore. Lance found himself dancing along to the music, hips swaying to the song. The doorbell rang and Allura gave him some more instructions on what to do before leaving to answer the door. 

“Be nice.” She scolded.

Lance sang a little as he worked. 

‘Pregúntale a quien tú quieras, Vida, te juro que eso no es así…’

But he stopped when he saw who entered following Allura into the dining room.  
Shiro followed Allura into the room. And right behind him was Keith.

“Hey everyone, this is Takashi Shirogane, and Keith Kogane.” Allura introduced. Hunk and Pidge’s heads whipped to look at Keith, and just as quickly turned to Lance, who had stopped dead in his tracks. Pidge even had the audacity to wink at Lance. Lance made eye contact with Keith for a brief moment before looking away.

“You guys can just call me Shiro.” Shiro said.

“Im Hunk, this is Katie, but she prefers to be called Pidge, And that’s Lance over there.” Hunk said.

Shiro laughed. “Nice to meet you, though I believe Lance and I are already acquainted.”

Lance furrowed his eyebrows.

“I don’t remember..?” Lance started.

 

“At the club right?” Shiro continued. And something clicked in his brain, a piece of info saying that he ad actually met Shiro at the nightclub Allura and him had gone to. He couldn’t remember anything else.

“Right, I remember now.”

“Great. Why don’t you guys have a seat at the table, and Lance and I will finish up with dinner.” Allura clapped her hands.

They did as they were told, and surprisingly enough Shiro and Keith both started talking about computer systems with Pidge and Hunk.

“You didn’t say that you invited Keith?” Lance whispered furiously to Allura.

“Shiro asked if he could come. Said something about Keith needing to make more friends.” Allura whispered back.

“There’s a reason he has no friends. That guy is a dick. Did I fail to mention that he’s my new roommate? And that he’s really rude and dry?”

“No, you did forget to tell me that part. But you’re just going to have to suck it up for tonight.”  
Lance looked over his and was met with a surprising sight. Pidge must have said something amusing because the other three all laughed. Keith had a dumb grin on his face and seemed to be getting along with the other two quite well.

“I hate him. He’s so dumb.” Lance muttered.

“Oh really? That’s not what you portrayed last friday?” Allura sang.

“Wait, What?!”

“Nothing.” Allura smirked at him. Lance knew he wasn’t going to get anything more out of her, so he let it slide. Soon the chatter in the background became, well, background noise. A new song came on, one that Lance really liked. Subconsciously he started to hum along and move his hips to the beat again. Allura and Lance finished dinner off shortly after the song ended. Allura then made Lance shut off his music. She brought the food over and set it on the table. Lance grabbed plates and forks. They set the table and dished up. Nobody said anything, It was Shiro who broke the silence.

“Keith was just admiring how you can move your hips.” Shiro grinned at Lance. Lance could see a slight blush forming over Keith’s face.

“I was not!” Keith sputtered. “I said he looked dumb.” Keith’s face was growing redder by the second.

“Keith. Didn’t your mama ever tell you that if you don’t have anything nice to say, to not say anything at all?” Lance sang.

“Actually no. My parents died when I was little. I was raised in foster care for most of my life.” Keith stated. The room seemed to become a little darker.

“Shit, I’m sorry man. I didn’t know.” Lance apologized.

“Yeah, well it doesn’t matter much anymore. I’m not too sensitive about it.” Keith lied, the only one who noticed was Shiro.

“This is really good Allura!” Hunk exclaimed breaking the awkward silence that had formed again.

“Thanks, but don’t forget that Lance helped too.” Allura smiled.

“So what are we doing for games night?” Lance asked.

“Mario Kart.” Pidge grinned wickedly. Allura and Hunk both groaned.

“I’m gonna whoop your ass Pidge. You know it.” Lance smiled sweetly.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Pidge countered.

“I don’t know, I’ve never played any of you at Mario Kart, but I think I’m pretty good.” Shiro interjected.

“I’ve beat you every game we’ve ever played against each other.” Keith stated.

“Shh, they don’t need to know that.” Shiro grinned.

“Allura here kicks ass as Princess Peach. She’s almost always in second.” Pidge said.

“Yeah. But I always win.” Lance said.

“No you don’t. I’ve been counting. At the moment it is a tie for the most first places. Though Allura is only behind by two. Hunk is further back, he has ten that he needs to place to be able to compete.” Pidge stated.

“I only play for fun.” Hunk shrugged.

“You know. At this point I’m not even surprised that you count that sort of thing. But trust me I’m going to win tonight.” Lance declared.

“Actually, you both might be challenged for that.” Shiro smirked.

“Yeah. Y’all are going to have to beat me.” Keith grinned at them. 

“Oh it’s on Mullet.” Lance challenged. Keith frowned but didn’t say anything.

“There should be a prize for whoever wins tonight.” Lance suggested.

“Like what?” Keith asked.

“I don’t actually know.” Lance stated. “I’ll figure it out after I beat you guys into oblivion.”

“Sure you will.” Pidge rolled her eyes and adjusted her round glasses. 

“Lance, help me clean up.” Allura asked standing up.

“I can help too.” Shiro suggested. Allura nodded, and they started to clear cups and plates from the table. 

With the three of them working it didn’t take long for everything to be done. Pidge and Hunk had gone into the living room to set up the console. Everything was clean and so they all moved over to the living room. There were a few couches arranged around the TV. Two three person couches and a beanbag. Pidge took the beanbag. Allura sat next to Shiro and Hunk on one of the couches, leaving Lance and Keith their own couch. Since the ttv was pretty small Lance moved over closer to the TV, and a little closer to Keith as well. Keith didn't move from his spot. Pidge grabbed the remote and turned on the tv. 

“We’re going to play four player so you guys are going to have to take turns. It’ll be myself, Lance, and Keith for the first turn. Allura, Hunk, and Shiro can play the next turn. Sound good?” Pidge asked, nobody disagreed. 

“And I'm going to lay out some ground rules right now. No throwing controllers or breaking anything. And nobody is allowed to lay hands on anyone else. No physical fights.” Pidge continued. Keith looked like he was confused as to what he had gotten himself into. 

“Cool. The other team can go first. And I'm pretty sure we'll have enough time to play at least three cups each.” 

Allura opened the game and chose the cc and the cup. 

It was fun watching the non-competitive players play. They were pretty relaxed except for when they were hit by a red shell or fell of the edge of the track. Swearing would ensue.   
Allura rightly took first place for the first cup they had played. Lance noticed that she had shuffled closer to Shiro, who was leaning more towards her now. Hunk just casually sat on the other end of the couch. He said he was gonna go get a drink, and when he returned he sat down on the floor next to Pidge. 

The next team played and it was way louder than when the first had. They played 150cc, making things a bit more intensive. Lance got annihilated by the other two. Keith won, Pidge in close second. 

“Practice round. Now you better get ready to have your asses handed to you.” Lance had muttered. Keith was grinning. 

The non competitive team opted out of the game after their next cup, which Shiro won. Lance was suspicious that Allura had let him win. Pidge didn't mind that the other team didn't want to play anymore. 

They played a second cup, with Lance’s favorite tracks, so he won easily. Keith didn't seem too amused. Lance checked his phone. 

“Guys. It's like, nine.” He had said.

“Means I only have time to finish one last cup.” Pidge stated. 

They chose the special cup, 150cc for their final. Since Lance and Keith were tied up Lance knew he needed to win. The first track he got second. Keith in first. Pidge managed to beat him next round, but Lance placed above Keith. They were tied. The third round and Keith got second, Lance in third. Pidge in sixth. 

Last round. 

The game was almost over, and if lance didn’t get first place he knew he was going to lose this grand prix. The last game they were playing. It was tied up between him and Keith. And Lance’s competitive nature would not allow failure. This round was incredibly stressful, as they were playing rainbow road, and everyone knows that rainbow road is the fucking worst. It started off and Pidge took first, Keith in second, and Lance in third. On the second lap Lance hit Pidge with a red shell and knocked him off the road.

“MOTHER FUCKER!” Pidge screeched. Lance laughed.

But Keith was still in first, and Lance wasn’t entirely sure what to do with that. Keith was going to win.

Shit

Shit.

Shit.

They hit the last lap and tensions rose. Lance scanned the screen. No blue shells in sight. And all he had been getting was bananas. An idea came to Lance’s head.   
Pidge did say no physical contact.

But she meant it in the way of violence, right?

So this left lance with the only option left. 

Play dirty. 

Lance found opportunity in the form of a railed portion of the track leading to a strong curve without rail. And since Keith was ahead of him. And since they were almost at the finish line. It was perfect.

Four seconds was all it would take. 

Without taking his eyes off the screen Lance leaned a little closer to Keith.  
“Huh, looks like you’re actually going to win? I’m sad.” Lance breathed, he felt Keith falter.   
Good.

The next thing he did was risky. And he might get punched in the face for it. But oh, it was going to be so sweet.

Lance took one hand off his controller and reached over to Keith. 

“Hey, Keith…” Lance murmured. Keith’s breath hitched in his throat. Lance trailed a finger along Keith’s leg. Before lifting it to his chin. He pulled Keith’s face a little closer to his, Distracting him, Keith took the bait. And now their faces were only centimeters apart.

“Sike.” Lance smiled. Keith’s head whipped back to the screen just in time to see his character fall off the edge of the track. And with that Lance took first place, right before the finish line.

“Fuck yeah! First place bitches!” Lance exclaimed. 

“Lance is a fucking cheater!” Keith sputtered red in the face.

“You can't cheat at Mario Kart. Well. You can, but it involves disabling the other person's controller somehow.” Pidge stated.

“He fucking cheated, I was going to get first place!” Keith exclaimed.

“And you fell off the edge of the world, good job.” Pidge grinned at him. Keith must have realized that nobody else saw them. Lance was pleased with himself, and that nobody saw him.  
The group dispersed shortly after. Since Pidge, Hunk, Keith, and Lance were all walking in the same direction, they all decided to head home together. This was despite Keith's protests, saying that he just wanted to walk alone. 

“So did you just move here Keith?” Pidge asked. 

“Yeah. I was just able to transfer, even though the year had already started. Shiro was really the one that pushed me to come.” Keith stated. 

“What were you going to do before?” Pidge asked. 

“I was in a dance program. Something big and I could've kept on with doing. I really liked it too. But shit happens and life sucks.” Keith stated. 

“Ouch. Dude. What happened?” Hunk asked. 

“I was dancing, and I fucked up my leg. And now I can't anymore.” Keith explained. 

“I'm sorry to hear.” Hunk sympathized. 

“It's fine. I just couldn't do it anymore, and it took me a long time to actually recover. While I was, I started working on my art. And that's why I'm here now.”

“Oh, well that's good then. I guess.”

“Yeah.”

The rest of the walk home was spent in silence. Keith didn't even talk to Lance once they had gotten in their room. Lance spent a short amount of time in the bathroom. Keith managed to complain even then. 

“I beat you at Mario Kart. So shut up.” Lance stuck out his tongue at Keith. 

“First of all, that doesn't mean you get unlimited time in the bathroom. Second, you only won because you played dirty.”

“Tch. You were just distracted. Not my fault.”

“You distracted me!” Keith sputtered. 

“It was easily done. Don't be so easily distracted.” Lance stated waving his hand. Keith just slammed the door to the bathroom.

Lance only felt mildly guilty, and mentally reprimanded himself to stop flirting with his roommate. Well. Keith was fun to tease, just because of how flustered he would get. It was cute, because it was a break in Keith’s usually tough exterior. 

Lance climbed into his bed and laid there for a moment. His phone buzzed. He pulled it out from under his pillow. It was a text from Lotor. He was asking if Lance wanted to get together tomorrow night and go for supper. Lance grinned at that. He quickly typed out a reply saying that, yes, he'd enjoy going.   
at 6:30?’   
‘Yeah, sounds good.’  
Lance flipped off his phone, turning over in his bed he fell asleep sometime later. 

 

Keith had spent longer in the bathroom than Lance. He stared in the mirror for a little. He splashed some cold water on his face.   
“Cmon. Get a grip. There's no sense crushing on that idiot. Sure. He might be at least slightly gay, but don't anyways. You don't want to get hurt again.” Keith muttered to himself. With that he dried his face and left the bathroom to go climb into bed. Lance was asleep and snoring softly. He slept curled up in a little ball. He looked peaceful. Keith lay awake into the night, just thinking about what he should do. 

 

****

 

Lance woke up in the morning to see that Keith's bed was empty. He must have already left. Lance took some time to get ready. His classes felt pretty short today. Which was okay. He took his lunch to the dance room. Shay stopped in again while he was dancing. 

“Hey Shay. How's things?” He asked her as she came in. 

“Pretty good. Oh. I was gonna ask. Some of my classmates saw my sketches and the asked where I was getting the reference. I told them I came to you. They wanted to know if they could come as well. Or if you wanted to come model for us sometime. The project we’re working on is called bodies in motion. And it'd be great if you could help us out?” Shay asked him. Lance paused at that. 

“Perhaps. I'll think about Modeling. You can bring one or two students next time if you'd like.” Lance suggested. 

“Yeah! I promise you we'll try to keep to ourselves.”

“Alright. Then I guess it's okay.”

“Thanks so much Lance.” 

Lance went back to working on his dance for the older class. 

Another knock on the door followed moments later. Hunk was the one who opened the door. 

“Hey Lance. You left this at our apartment last time you were around. I just remembered and came to drop it off.” Hunk said dangling something in his hand. 

“What is it? Come here.” Lance sighed exasperatedly. 

Hunk walked cautiously into the room. Shay was looking at him in mild amusement. Hunk gave what he was holding to Lance. It was a handmade bracelet that one of his younger siblings had given to him. He remembered he had put it in the pocket of his one jacket, and it had probably fallen out. 

"Thanks." 

"Hey Lance, why do you have an audience? Why is she cute?" Hunk whispered. 

"Her name is Shay. She's an art student. She asked if she could use me as a reference. I can give her your number if you like." Lance winked. 

"Do whatever. I gotta go." Hunk said and walked out. 

"Who was that?" Shay asked him after Hunk had left.

"My friend, Hunk."

"Oh."

"Do you want his number. I can give it to you?" Lance raised one eyebrow. 

"Would he be okay with that?" She asked. 

"Of course!" Lance mentally high-fived himself. 

Shay thanked him again and left shortly after. 

Lance's day went quickly afterwards. He finished his last class and came back to the dance room for his Monday classes. 

His students were doing really well today, and they seemed to be enjoying the choreography he had made earlier. So that was a plus. 

At five thirty he went back down to his room to get ready to go out with Lotor. 

Was this a date?

He wasn't really sure. 

Keith was sitting on his bed sketching when he walked into the room. Lance set his bag down by his bed and went to go through his drawers to find something to wear. The only problem being that he didn't know where he was going with Lotor, and how fancy he should be. Lance rummaged through his drawers for some time. Keith must have seen him struggling because he spoke up. 

"Just choose something." Keith muttered.

"But I can't. I don't know how fancy I should be." Lance had replied. 

"Where are you going?"

"A date. I don't know how formal. Or where he's even taking me." Lance sighed. 

"Go for black jeans and a nice shirt." Keith suggested. 

"Okay. I can do that."

"Wait. Did you say 'he'?" 

"Yeah."

"Are you gay?" Keith asked sounding surprised. 

"Ouch." 

"No no. Not like that."

"I'm actually bisexual." Lance paused, "Bi the way."

"That was a horrible pun." 

"Why. What's it to you?" Lance asked. 

"Nothing."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Whatever." 

Lance grabbed his clothes and walked into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and turned the water on. Lukewarm. It was nice because he was still hot from dance. 

 

Lance was bi. This was new information to Keith. And Keith scolded himself again.  
'Don't get too attached.


	4. Dates and, Dance Lessons?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sorry. I also had a lot of fun writing this.

Lance met Lotor at exactly six thirty in front of the university. Lotor was driving the same red Lamborghini, and suddenly Lance felt very incompetent. Lance walked over and Lotor swung the door open for him.

“Thanks.” Lance said and climbed in. Lance noticed that Lotor was wearing similar clothing to him. Blue jeans and a button down shirt, with that he breathed a sigh of relief.

“So I bet you’re wondering where we’re going?” Lotor asked.

“Yeah. You didn’t say much in your texts.” 

“It’s not terribly fancy. And I thought I probably should’ve mentioned that. But it’s also a little bit of a surprise.” Lotor grinned at him.

“Alright.” 

“So what have you been doing lately?” Lotor asked.

“Well today was pretty much the same as usual. But yesterday I went to a friends place and we had dinner.” Lance stated. Lotor narrowed his eyes at that.

“Who is your friend? How late did you stay?” 

“Whoa, dude chill. You sound like my mom. Friends I guess. There was six of us. We left around nine.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Why?”

“Just curious.” Lotor was back to smiling.

The drive there didn’t take very long. They arrived at a place called ‘The Blue Lion’.

“It’s nice here.” Was Lotor’s only remark. 

The walked inside. The restaurant was dimly lit, but warm and lance could hear the soft chatter of people inside. Chairs and tables lined around the walls. The walls were tastefully decorated with nice paintings and a large tapestry depicting a great blue lion sat behind the counter. A waiter came up to them. Lotor asked for a table for two. The man was wearing what would be a waiters equivalent to a suit. Well. Lance knew that the standards of a man who drive a Lambo must be really high, because to him this was definitely fine dining.

Lotor was being gentlemanly and pulled out Lance’s chair. They sat and were brought menus.

“I recommend this…” Lotor said pointing to a picture of a seafood pasta. Lance probably couldn’t pronounce anything in this menu and Lotor laughed at that. 

“Ah, and can I get a bottle of Venissa Dorona?” Lotor asked as he ordered for both of them.

“That is a 200$ Wine sir?” The waiter asked uneasily.

“Well worth it too.” Lotor stated coldly. The waiter only nodded and headed back to the kitchen.

“Wait. No. You don’t need to…”

“But I want to.” Lotor stated dismissively, he then broke off into a conversation on himself and his art major he wanted.

Lance was shocked that Lotor would spend that much on one bottle of wine. Just then his phone pinged. Lance looked down to check it. It seemed Pidge had made a group chat and was informing the rest of the group. Lotor looked mildly annoyed that Lance had looked at his phone.

“May I see your phone?” Lotor asked sweetly. Lance flipped the silence switch on it first before cautiously handing it to Lotor. Lotor took it from him and set it on his side of the table, where Lance couldn’t reach it.

“There. No more distractions.” Lotor smiled again. 

“Would you tell me about yourself? How are the dorms?” Lotor asked him before Lance could protest.

“Oh. Well, I enjoy writing, I’m taking a few classes in hopes I can become a novelist. The dorms are okay. I still prefer my own apartment. My roommate is okay. I’m still getting used to him, he’s a little closed off, and bitter.” Lance added.

“Who is he?” 

“His name is Keith Kogane. He’s really pretty, but such a dick.” Lotor frowned.

“Kogane. He is friends with Shirogane. I have bad history with them. I’m even more serious about you not staying there now.” Lotor’s mood had soured.

“Why, what happened between you and them? Besides I don’t have anywhere else to go at the moment.” 

“It was a family thing. Takashi’s father used to work for our company, but things went south with that, and now it’s more of a family feud. Nothing to really concern yourself with. Concerning your living arrangements, I did say you could come live with me.” Lotor was back to smiling pleasantly at Lacne, and now something about this whole dinner date was setting him on edge. Luckily Lance didn’t have to answer because the waiter showed back up with their food. He then brought them the promised bottle of wine in a steel bucket with ice. Lance thanked him, but Lotor did not. 

Once the waiter had gone the mood turned pleasant again, and Lotor opened the bottle, pouring himself and Lance a glass. The deep red of it reminded Lance of blood. He was never one for wine, as he didn’t enjoy the flavour of it very much. 

“This is some of the better wines you can get at a restaurant. Yet it’s still not nearly as good as some of the better things I’ve found in Italy and France.” Lotor explained, and Lance wondered if he tried to sound haughty, or if that was just his personality. Lance sipped his drink and found that it was slightly better than other things he had tasted, yet he still didn’t like red wine. 

“You’ve traveled?” Lance asked.

“Yes, I’ve been around Europe several times. But not really much anywhere else. My father expects me to run the company when I get older, which sounds alright. I feel like I want it to become more international, and that means I’ll be able to travel around the world. I’ve always been struck by a strong sense of wanderlust, but the only thing that holds me down is the responsibilities.” Lotor sighed. 

“Oh, that sounds similar to what I experienced growing up. This might sound dumb, but I really wanted to be an astronaut. The only problem was that I have a stigmatism. Hinders my sight, and NASA doesn’t accept that.” Lance said adjusting his glasses. 

“I’ve never really been drawn to space. Father always has. He jokes about universal domination sometimes. The expansion of power. It’s all really ridiculous.” Lotor laughed, and Lance did with him. Lance was going to check the time, but he realized his phone was over by Lotor. Lance was just going to have to wait to see what the new group message thing Pidge had made was.  
After dinner Lotor drove Lance back to the university. When they arrived Lance thanked Lotor, and Lotor gave him back his phone. 

Looking at it lance had saw that he had missed a lot of messages in the new group chat. It seemed that there were six members, Shiro and Keith were included. Lance wondered how Pidge had gotten Keith to willingly join the group, Lance assumed that Shiro was probably involved in that part. Luckily what he had missed wasn’t much. Lance wandered back to his room. It wasn't too late so Lance pondered over the idea of stopping in to see Pidge and Hunk. Lance rejected the idea soon after when Pidge texted the chat saying she was going to bed. And disrupting Pidge was a little like waking a sleeping lion, so Lance knew he better not risk it. He opted to just going back to his room. He didn't bother knocking before entering, walking right in he saw Keith was laying on his bed, and in his hands was what Lance thought was a 3ds. 

“Dude. You play a DS?” Lance asked. And as soon as Keith heard that he snapped it shut, shoving it under his pillow. 

“No.”

“I totally just saw you. Tell me, what were you playing?” Lance was grinning. Also flustered Keith was generally cute. 

“Nothing.”

“Cmon. No shame. I still play Pokemon. My 3DS is a limited edition. It has Lunala on the front of it.”

“Good for you.” Was Keith's curt reply. 

“So I don't get to know what games you have for your DS?”

“Ugh. Will you stop bothering me if I tell you?”

“Yes.”

“I was playing Pokemon Sun. I haven't finished it yet.”

“It came out forever ago. How have you not finished it?”

“I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I need to collect all the items and fill in the dex completely.” Keith was blushing.

“I admire that. But I'm more of a play it all in one sweep type of person.”

“Why am I having a conversation with you about Pokemon?” Keith muttered, more to himself. 

“Because Pokemon is awesome and I'm cool because I play it? Dude. I have moon. We should totally trade legendaries when you get yours.” 

“You know, for the sake of a filled in pokedex I might take you up on that. But I'm also not sure I can trust you with my legendary. What if you release it?” 

“Ouch. I'm offended that you don't trust me.”

“For good reason. How was your date?” Keith asked him changing the topic. 

“In all honesty, weird. He took my phone because he didn't like me looking at it. And then he insisted I don't stay in the university res. But he is super nice, and other than that it was pretty good.” Lance confessed. 

“I mean. I get that watching your date text someone else through the entire thing is annoying. But that does sound a little odd.” 

“I think he'd be some sort of super possessive boyfriend, clingy. Or at least that's just the vibe I got from him.” Keith seemed to pale a little at that. 

“Be careful. You can't always tell somebody's underlying traits. They might not always be good.”

“That sounds a bit like a warning?” Lance asked cautiously. 

“I should know. I had a possessive boyfriend. He didn't take it well when I broke up with him.” Keith replied. 

“Whoa. Dude wait. What?” 

“It happened a while ago. It's nothing big.” Keith dismissed waving a hand. 

“If you say so.” Lance was still a little unsure at why Keith had reacted like that. He shrugged it off and spent some time getting ready for bed.

Keith was sitting with his sketchbook when Lance walked out of the bathroom. Lance almost wanted to ask what he was drawing. Almost. But then again, he was well aware of how annoying it was when people came up to ask what he was writing. Not to mention that it was about ten times worse when they asked to read it. Like, that’s just a no. So Lance let it be. Then he remembered that he should probably work on his book. And maybe that homework that Mrs. Haggar had decided to spontaneously assign. Lance pulled his laptop out of its case from where he had left it when he moved in. On his dresser. The case was a little damaged with the water and the fire, but luckily the actual computer had been spared, Lance was eternally thankful for that. Sitting down on his bed, he leaned against the headboard, propping his back up with pillows. He opened his laptop and started working. 

The room was filled with quiet noise of typing, and a pencil going over paper. Lance would notice that sometimes Keith would glance over at him, but he didn’t think much of it. The room was incredibly peaceful at the moment. But. The only thing that could make this better was listening to some music. He had a whole writing playlist, but paused when he realized that he couldn’t actually listen to music without disturbing his roommate. His laptop may have been salvaged, but his headphones were not. They had fallen on the floor at some point, and were wrecked because of the water. He could play music out loud, but he was pretty sure Keith wouldn’t appreciate it.

“Keith.”

“What.” 

“Would you mind if I played music?” Lance asked.

“Yes.”

Lance pouted.

“You don’t listen to good music anyways.” Keith continued.

“What!? I’m sorry that you have horrible taste. What do you even listen to anyways?” 

“Classic rock. Modern rock. Now shut up and leave me alone.”

“I bet you listen to emo rock to.” Lance smirked. Keith rolled his eyes.

“Go away.”

“Am I more than you bargained for yet...?” Lance sang.

“Oh my god. Shut up.”

“I’ve been dying to tell you anything you want to hear…” Lance continued.

“Lance I’m serious. Shut the fuck up. You’re a disgrace to Fall Out Boy. How do you even know that song.”

“So you do listen to emo rock!” Lance grinned triumphantly.

“No. Shut up.” 

“You basically just admitted it.” 

“I hate this. Why did I have to get put in the same dorm as you.” Keith muttered exasperatedly.

“Luck of the draw. Come on Keith. Anyone else would be super happy to be put in the same dorm.”

“Do you never shut up? I mean. I can answer that for myself. You even talk in your sleep.” Keith muttered.

“What! I do not!” Lance could feel the blush creeping up the back of his neck.

“Unfortunately you do. And it’s annoying.”

Whoops. Keith actually meant to say that it was actually really cute. Sometimes when Keith would lay awake in the night Lance would mutter things in his sleep. Usually they didn’t make any sense, but still. 

“Nope. Don’t remember. Didn’t happen.”

“Just go away.” 

Lance actually shut up then. He didn’t have anything better to bug Keith about. And now knowing that he listened to emo rock, that was a victory in itself. Except Lance was a little torn. Did he actually talk in his sleep? Was that a new habit? Or was Keith just bluffing?  
Lance put away his Laptop. He threw the covers over himself. He checked the time. It was ten thirty. Turning off his own lamp he told to Keith to go to bed and shut off the lights. Keith obliged shortly after he had asked. 

 

****

 

Keith was awoken in cold sweats sometime later in the night. Checking his phone it read 4:27am. He’d had a nightmare, the same one he’d been having ever since the incident. Nothing seemed to help. Sleeping medicine seemed to make it worse. At this point the only thing that actually kept Keith asleep was pure exhaustion. You can’t stay awake forever after all. If he was tired enough sometimes he wouldn’t dream. Keith had already decided that PTSD wasn’t fun, and was probably going to kill him someday. Especially at this rate. Keith looked over to check that Lance was still sleeping. He was, and like Keith had said, was muttering something. From the sounds of it, winged cats in space. Keith cracked a smile at that. He then pulled himself out of bed and peeled off his sweaty shirt and pyjama pants. He grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top. His windbreaker went overtop, grabbing his running shoes from besides the door he laced them up. He checked to see that Lance hadn’t moved or woken up. But his muttering had stopped. Keith could see when he cracked the door opened that Lance had one eye open and   
was looking at him.

“Keith, where you going?” Lance muttered his voice thick with sleep.

“Shh, don’t worry. Go back to sleep.” Keith whispered. Lance seemed to mutter an okay, he rolled over and when Keith could hear his soft snores again he left. 

Night runs were always good to calm him down. Also how he stayed in shape. The stillness of the night was relaxing. The chill that lay over the city, the small raindrops that clung to branches of trees, the moon shining down, and the calmness of the air. It was all really pretty, and with nobody around Keith felt free to run anywhere. The only limiting factor being time, and energy. 

 

****

 

Lance woke up ten minutes before his alarm rang. He glanced over to see that Keith was asleep in his bed. So maybe Lance had dreamt it. He had thought that he actually woke up to see Keith leave but perhaps not. Lance shut off his alarm and got up. Not long after another alarm rang. Lance took the shower and not long after Keith knocked on the door telling him to hurry up.   
First class of today was a basic english class, that he had Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It seemed that Keith also had a class first thing. Lance wasted time in the shower until Keith came back and threatened Lance.

“If you’re so eager you can join me.” Lance had hollered before turning off the water.

“No fucking way. Hurry the fuck up.” Keith had shouted back.

Lance hated early morning classes, and yet here he was. It was this, and then he had a break from his classic lit class. He decided to go to the dance room then, as usual. So he packed his dance things along with him. 

English went pretty smoothly, and Lance didn’t even fall asleep in class. So he counted that as an accomplishment. He didn’t go to the dance room right after, and instead prompted himself to go to the library to work on a newly assigned essay. He texted the group chat saying that’s where he’d be, Pidge said she’d come along. Hunk was busy in the ceramics room so he opted out. 

The library was massive, and smelled of books, and a little of must. A small computer lab sat to the northern side. The rest of the library was two storeys tall, and filled with bookshelves stacked with old textbooks and other things. The library was Pidge’s favourite place to be, and Lance found her at a table along the northern wall. This end of the Library was illuminated by tall windows, and was a great place to sit and study, read, or work quietly. 

Lance sat down next to Pidge. She had her laptop out and was working on some character sketches.

“Hey Pidge.” Lance greeted.

“Hi Lance. What’s up?” Pidge asked him, not even taking her eyes off her computer. 

“Nothing really. I’ve just come here to work on an new essay. Which kinda makes me want to die, but whatever.” Lance smiled.

“How’s Keith?” Pidge asked mischievously.

“Why do you care to know?” Lance asked suspiciously.

“You’re not subtle in the fact that you have a thing for him.” Pidge grinned.

“Excuse you. I happen to have, a sort-of boyfriend.” Lance stuttered.

“I find that hard to believe.” Pidge stated.

“Did you only come here to make fun of me?” Lance asked.

“No. I was generally curious to see if the close quarters had yielded anything yet.”

“No, and they’re not going to.”

“Sure.” 

“And I was actually serious about the sort-of boyfriend. We’ve been on a date.”

“Just one? I don’t think that counts.” Pidge stated.

“It kind of does.” 

“Sure.” 

“Ugh.”

Lance was silent for a moment.

“Hey, do you think that Hunk would be down to watch a movie tomorrow night?” Lance asked.

“Why don’t you ask Keith?”

 

“No, I was thinking we could all hang out in your dorm and watch The Avengers or something. And I don’t want to ask Keith.” 

“We could do that. And if you didn’t want to ask Keith, why not ask your alleged boyfriend?”

“That would be weird.”

“Fine, yeah. I’m sure Hunk would be down with that.” Pidge 

“Cool.” 

Lance resorted to working on his essay. Sometimes he’d take a look at what pidge was drawing. It was usually really good, and sometimes Lance would wonder how she managed to draw on a digital platform. Lance had never tried it before, but sometimes he wanted to. But it also wasn’t like Pidge was going to let him try on her laptop. Lance was pretty sure she’d rather die before that happened. 

Lance got a good portion of his essay planned, and he even started writing. But the next bell rang and interrupted him. 

“Sorry Pidge, I gotta go. I was going to work on choreography.” Lance explained picking up his things to leave.

“Okay, see you around.” 

The halls were crowded, and getting up to the dance room was difficult. Lance was lucky he was tall enough that people wouldn’t push him around. Pidge complained that people ran into her daily.

At the dance room, with the strenuous task of getting here over Lance took some time to stretch out. A knock at the door meant that Shay was probably outside.

“Come in.” Lance called out, the door opened and Shay walked in hesitantly.

“Hey, I brought someone along with me. I hope you don’t mind.” Shay stated nervously.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Lance stated. He was looking down at his phone trying to find the right playlist for today. He didn’t bother looking up to see who else had come with her. But when he did his breath caught in his throat. Shay was standing there smiling and chatting with fucking Keith Kogane. He must have not noticed that Lance was the one Shay was talking to. Lance’s voice must have been muffled from leaning over the stereo in the corner, and he had his back turned to them.  
Keith looked up and made eye contact with Lance. He seemed confused as to why Lance was there.

“I teach classes here.” Lance stated as an answer to Keith’s questioning glance. Keith’s face flushed.

“Oh. I didn’t know. Hey, Shay, I don’t think this will work for me. I’ll just leave.” Keith stuttered.  
“What? But you seemed really excited at the prospect of a male dancer for a reference.” Shay asked confused. Keith couldn’t say anything about that. Besides, backing out now would leave suspicion. 

Keith knew that Lance could dance. He had demonstrated that on that one night at the club. Keith also knew that Lance didn’t remember anything of that night, and when Keith had found this out he had pleaded Shiro to never bring it up again. Mistakes were made, and he would live happily knowing that Lance didn’t remember a thing about that night. 

“Yeah.” Keith sighed.

“So stay. Lance doesn’t mind. Do you?” Shay asked Lance cautiously.

“Yeah, It’s fine.” Lance agreed. But inside he felt as if he would die. To have Keith drawing him would be, different. Shay was fine. But having Keith’s eyes on him for an extended period of time was bound to bring about some trouble. Not to mention that it would make him severely uncomfortable. Lance did know that Keith was in Shay’s class, he just didn’t expect him to show up. And judging from Keith’s comment about leaving, Lance assumed that Shay hadn’t mentioned names when she told Keith about him.

“Okay great! I usually just sit in front of the mirror.” Shay told Keith and led him over to sit down.  
Lance hit play on his playlist. His movements starting off were stiff and uncomfortable. Shay seemed to notice because she frowned.

“Are you sure you’re okay? We can leave if you’d like.” She called out to him over the music.

“No, it’s good. I’m just… Stiff.”

Shay nodded understanding. 

Lance breathed deeply and started again. He felt a little more relaxed. Keith wasn’t watching him very much. Not like Shay who would make quick sketches of things and would keep her eyes on him. 

The song he was working on right now was “Elastic Heart” by Sia. It was one of his favorites. So when Keith started watching him, Lance didn’t notice at first. But when he did he looked over to see Keith frowning.

“Wait. Stop. Hold that position, right there.” Keith demanded. He got up.

Lance was standing in an off-kilter arabesque in attitude, and was really, really hard to hold.

“What?” Lance asked, dropping out of the position.

“You’re doing it wrong.” Keith stated, “now go back to that position.” he demanded.

Shay looked just as confused as Lance. But Lance obliged.

“You’re lifting your hip to compensate for height of your leg. You can’t do that. And you could turn out a bit more. Hold your thigh higher. Shoulders down. Dude. You can't just hide behind your arm like that.” Keith instructed.

“Are you even qualified for this?” Lance asked dropping back out of the position.

“Yes. I was in a professional company. Before I got injured. I told you that. Now, are you going to take those corrections, or are you just going to keep doing it wrong?” Keith snapped his fingers.

Lance tried again.

“No no. You’re still doing the thing with your leg. You did manage to fix your upper body, so kudos for that.”

“Well if you’re the expert show me how it’s done?” Lance exclaimed.

“I can’t. Injury. Remember.” He rolled his eyes. Keith had lost all patience. “How about you do the position, and I’ll help you fix it.”

“Okay?” Lance agreed uneasily.

“Can I touch you?” Keith asked. His face had gone slightly red.

“Uh, What?”

“If, I’m going to help, I’ll need to be able to touch you if you want to fix this.” Keith was even more red.

“Yeah, fine. Go for it.” Lance’s face had probably gone red by now also. He moved back into his position.

“Okay, so, like I said. Don’t lift your hip.” Keith said and hesitantly reached out to put his hands on Lance’s hips. He pushed down, helping to level them.

“Okay good. Now, turn out. You need to feel it in your hip.” Keith instructed. He moved his hands from Lance's hips and gently touched Lance’s thigh, keeping one hand on his hip. Lance shivered at the contact. Keith ran his hand along the inner part of his thigh, towards the outside, adjusting his turn out.

“And lift.” Keith breathed. He brought his hand to the inner part of Lance’s knee and gently pushed upwards, still keeping the other hand in place. 

“Good. Now hold it.” Keith had moved his hands from where they were place. Impulsively, he ran them up Lance’s side, to his shoulder.

“Shoulders down. Look at your audience. You want to connect.”  Lance could feel Keith’s breath on his neck. Keith had moved his hands to Lance’s shoulders. Taking one finger he traced up one of Lance’s prominent collarbones. He brought it to under his chin, prompting Lance to look at the mirrors. Keith gently traced up, raising his chin. 

“Perfect.” 

Lance had realized how close they actually were a while ago. He could honestly feel the heat coming from Keith’s body. They were that close, faces centimeters apart. And having Keith run his hands all over his body, was, maddening, to say the least. Lance was too focused on not falling over to see how red Keith’s face had gotten. Lance also knew that his own face had probably coloured some shade of beet red. Lance barely noticed how Keith’s eyes had flicked down to look at his lips. It was an instant. Right after Keith took two steps back. Lance wasn’t sure if it was to see how well his corrections had worked, or if the close proximity had gotten to him as well.

 

Keith swore at himself. He knew that that was a stupid thing to do. Almost as stupid as the night at the club. It had started innocently, an anger at Lance doing stuff wrong. But it had heated since then. And the thoughts in Keith’s mind now were something along the lines of, ‘kiss him hard’ and, ‘fuck him against a wall’. Which were both really forwards, and something Keith really, really wanted to do. 

 

Lance made eye contact with Shay after keith had stepped away. She had also gone a nice shade of scarlet. One hand clapped over her mouth. Lance also noticed that she was holding her phone. Shit. Did she take a picture of that? Did she send it to Hunk? He fucked up. He fucked up really bad.

“I should leave. Thanks for the reference.” Keith stuttered. He grabbed his things and practically ran out the door.

“Yeah, I think I’ll go too. Thanks Lance. See you again.” Shay announced, she had taken her hand off of her mouth and was grinning.

Lance nodded and she left. 

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not sorry.


	5. If All Else Fails, Try, Try, Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to apologize in advance, because I've had severe writers block. I ended up rewriting this, and I'm sorry it's so short. But I hope you like it anyways.

Lance was left alone in the studio which no set plans, and no idea what he actually wanted to do. Both Shay and Keith had left, and Lance wasn't sure he wanted to continue working on his dance. 

His body felt hot, flushed, and tingly in the places Keith had touched him. What the fuck even was that? Something about it almost felt familiar, and Lance couldn't shake that. He took a walk around the edges of the dance room trying to calm himself. He was also a little lost on what to do now. He hadn't even been intentionally flirting, and now that he knew that Keith was gay, or Bi, or something things were different. And would be even more different now that, ‘that’ had happened. 

A ping on his phone brought his attention back to the real world. He paced over to the stereo and saw that he had two new messages. One of them was a photo attachment. 

Oh no. 

He swiftly unlocked his phone to find that Hunk had sent a photo to both him and Pidge. The photo was of what had happened not even ten minutes ago. Hunk had sent it with another message telling them to get a room. It was obvious that Shay had taken it, and sent it to Hunk. His face flushed again looking at them both. He was in his arabesque and Keith's hands were on him. They were very close, and the photo showed that well.

‘Hunk delete that NOW!’ Lance typed out frantically. 

‘Too late. I've already saved it.’ Pidge’s reply was moments later. 

‘Nooooooo’ Lance typed. 

‘So, what were you guys up to?’ Hunk replied.

‘Corrections. It's a dance thing. You wouldn't understand.’ Lance replied. 

‘Uh, yeah, sure.’ Pidge said. 

Lance groaned and pulled his phone off the stereo. He grabbed his glasses and pushed them back on. Feeling slightly flustered he made his way down to his next class. Lotor texted him sometime on his way. He was asking if Lance wanted to do something again with him tonight. Lance responded saying he wasn't sure he was doing anything. Lotor had told him that he'd pick Lance up around seven. Lance didn’t want to spend any time around Lotor at the moment, so he texted back saying that, nevermind, he was busy, and had things to do.

So with that out of the way Lance wandered through crowded halls, all the way down to his next class. He almost fell asleep listening to the teacher ramble on, but was kept awake by the sheer amount of tension he felt. The class went by smoothly enough. He didn’t even get yelled at by the professor, so that was good too. 

He had dance classes tonight as well. Well, he had classes almost every day, unless he got a sub. His first class was the little group. They were very hard to keep in line, almost like herding cats. Since all of them were around the 6-10 age group he found entertainment in what they did. He tried to keep everyone happy, and the dance itself wasn’t hard. Maybe for six year olds it was, but sometimes it bored Lance. Endless plies, tondues, and gallops into formations like lines and circles. Sometimes he wished he had someone to help keep the littler ones in line.

The next class was slightly older in age. They were the ones working on harder classical ballet moves. This class was ages 11-13, sometimes they wouldn’t listen to him, but for the most part they did pretty good. He decided to only work on barre for this class. He could hear audible groans when he announced it. Lance didn’t quite understand the adverse reaction to barre. It’s not like it was something he completely detested as a kid. 

“Guys, you remember that if I can hear you complain I’ll assume what we’re doing is too easy and make it harder.” Lance sang, starting the classical piano music he used for plies. 

Over the course of that class he found that nobody complained any more, especially after developpe’s. The kids in this class were good to talk to on the occasion. It was a fun group to work with. Their ballet dance was coming along nicely, so in the last few minutes of class he asked them to show him their lyrical. Most of these groups took several classes a week, ones for jazz, lyrical, ballet, sometimes tap. The other teacher was the one who worked on tap dances. The university studio wasn’t competitive, so they took their time working on dances before their year end show. 

The last class was the 16-17 year olds. They were all mature, but could sometimes get out of hand talking. He was working on their lyrical. ‘Elastic Heart’. Hearing the song made him tense up a bit. And then again when he showed them the arabesque in attitude that he wanted them to do coming out of a turn. They were a good class, and worked hard to perfect the moves he gave them. It was nice to watch how they were getting better after each class. He hadn’t had much time with them, as their previous teacher had left so suddenly. That was partially the reason he got to work as the new teacher. He had known the one before him, and she had offered him the position, only after she couldn’t find anyone else. Lance wasn’t particularly bitter over that fact, he had only just graduated from his own studio. 

That class was about as strenuous as what Lance would work on by himself. He needed to keep in shape, and keep up flexibility. By the time his last student had left he felt a little gross. He could feel his shirt sticking to his back, and he knew he was going to have to go down to the dorms to shower. And hopefully, if he was lucky, he wouldn’t find Keith down there. 

He was actually at the point where he knew that avoiding Keith wasn’t going to do him much good. But then again the embarrassment he knew he was going to feel was going to be, fun. He almost wondered what had happened after Keith had left. Maybe he was trying to stay away from Lance as well. Maybe he was avoiding him. What if Keith regretted what he had done? Keith hadn’t shown interest before. Thinking of this made his head hurt. Why wouldn’t these thoughts go away? 

Lance tried to shrug it off and made his way down to his dorm. He knocked before he entered, and didn’t know if he was expecting anything else when there was no answer. Inside he noticed that Keith wasn’t in here. Lance breathed a sigh of relief. That left him to his own devices for a little. And then maybe he’d go visit Hunk and Pidge in their dorm. Lance had a cold shower, as his blood still felt hot in his veins. He wasn’t sure if that was just because of dance, or maybe it was Keith’s lingering effect. That annoyed Lance. What right does he think he has to make me feel like this? 

 

****

 

Keith had left the university after his last class. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go back to the dorms right now. He really just needed some time to put his thoughts together. And he also felt like he needed someone to talk to. He sent a message to Shiro and got a reply in minutes. He smiled. He checked the time. The next bus should be coming in around ten minutes. His commute to the bus stop took about that time. Luckily he made it just in time, the bus had stopped and the last person was boarding. He jogged up and got on. 

Luckily it wasn't very crowded, and Keith picked out a spot by the window. He sat and looked down at his phone. A new message from, Hunk? He opened it to see an image attachment, but it wasn't loading. Refreshing the app, he opened it again. Hunk had sent him a photo of him and Lance. A photo of what had happened earlier today. He knew Shay had taken it, and had waited outside for her. He fought with her, and finally won. She deleted the photo. He hadn't known that she had sent them to somebody else beforehand. Maybe that was why she had complied so easily? 

Keith's felt himself blush just looking at the picture. The memory of how Lance had felt, how close Keith was to kissing him, was a bit much. And honestly, it scared him a little. Hunk had sent the picture to him, along with three question marks. Keith typed out that it meant nothing. Dance corrections, could sometimes get a bit touchy. Hunk didn't need to know that that wasn't quite true. Keith didn't need to be that close to Lance to have made those corrections. Hunk replied with ‘k’, which made Keith believe that he didn't believe what Keith had told him. Instead of trying to argue his point further, he told Hunk to delete the photo, and shut off his phone. 

Keith focused on the ride. He watched the city go by. It was getting darker earlier, as the days went on. It was around dusk and the golden sunlight shimmered through the almost bare tree branches. The light reflected off the colourful leaves on the ground, making a very pretty scene. Maybe Keith would paint it. It took around forty five minutes and three different stops to end up where Keith needed to be. 

The buildings here mostly consisted of small houses and apartment buildings. Where Shiro lived wasn't a far walk from the bus stop. Keith enjoyed the warm rays of sunshine on his face, and the slight autumn breeze that rattled the fallen leaves on the sidewalk. Keith shoved his hands in his pockets, it was steadily getting colder, and he had forgotten his gloves. 

Walking up to the apartment building leaves crunched under his feet where they had blown back onto the walk. The small building seemed to glow a little. The many windows reflected the light. He called Shiro and told him to let him in. Shiro obliged, the door buzzed open and he walked inside. Shiro’s apartment was up one set of stairs and to the right. The building had a faint old smell to it, and was moderately decorated. Shiro had asked Keith if he had wanted to stay with him, Keith had rejected, only because of the distance it was from school. Instead he had opted to get a private dorm room, which seemed as if it was going to work out, but didn't. 

He knocked on Shiro’s door, waiting only a few moments to be let in. 

“Hey Keith. Is something the matter? What's with the spontaneous visit?” Shiro asked him as soon as Keith walked in. 

“Can't I just visit you because I feel like it?” Keith challenged. 

“That doesn't seem very Keith like. But you can tell me about it while I make dinner.” Shiro stated. 

“Okay yeah.” Keith pulled off his coat and hung it on the door.

Shiro led him into his apartment. It was warm and smelled of cooking. The rug was soft underfoot, and Keith noticed the art hung on the walls. Most of it was his. And sometimes Keith wondered why Shiro even left it up. Some of it wasn't very good. Or at least we're things that he wasn't proud of. His new work was better. Keith made a mentally note, reminding himself to give Shiro some better art to replace, whatever this was. 

“Why are you making that face at my decorations.” Shiro asked sounding amused. 

“They're horrible to look at.” Keith confessed. 

“I think they're wonderful.” Shiro hummed to himself. He was stirring something left on the stove. 

“You sound like someone's dad. I'll make you something better.” Keith huffed. 

“I almost count as your dad. Let me enjoy my son’s artwork” Shiro grinned at him.

“Ew. No. You're more like a brother to me. And that's just weird.” Keith tore his eyes from a bad painting of a sunset and sat down at the round table in the kitchen. 

“So, would you tell me why you spontaneously decided to come over?” Shiro asked. Keith groaned and set his head on the table. 

“I fucked up.” Keith muttered. He could basically feel the confused stare Shiro was giving him. 

“Lance again?” Shiro asked him gently. 

“I don't know what to do.” 

Keith looked up. Shiro’s hands were on his hips. 

“Tell me what happened.”

Keith spilled. He told Shiro the entire story. Of how shay had told him that she found a good body reference. How he had agreed to come with her the next time she went to see him. How he had learned that Lance taught classes in the university. How he had gotten mad, because Lance was doing things wrong. How he had tried to help him out with corrections, and instead it felt more like he was flirting with Lance. 

“And now I don't know what to do. Do you think things are going to be horrendously awkward now? Do you think I was too pushy, too fast? Do you think he's going to hate me now because I can't seem to control myself when he's around? Shiro. It's honestly a problem, because when I see him, my rational brain takes a vacation and leaves my impulses to control me as they see fit.” Keith confesses. Shiro had sat down at the table with Keith. He seemed to be in thought. 

“I think you need to go talk to him. Also, you need to stop acting like you don't have a huge fucking crush on him. It's not like things are going to get any better if all you're doing is avoiding him.”

“I can't do that.” 

“Why not?”

“I think he has a boyfriend.” Keith mumbled. 

“What? No. If he did I doubt he'd have let you touch him like that. Let you dance with him. And didn't he like, make a move at you playing Mario Kart? Lance seems trustworthy and loyal. I doubt he'd flirt with you if he was actually in a relationship.” 

“I thought you didn't believe me about the Mario Kart thing. And I don't think he's flirting. I think he's just trying to mess with me. I don't even know what I want. I don't want to get involved with anyone again. I can't trust people. Shiro. You know this. You know what happened to me last time I fell in love with somebody.” 

Shiro was saddened to hear how broken Keith sounded. He reached out and put a hand on Keith's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.   
“Hey. Keith? You can't let your bad experience dictate what you can and can't do. How you can and can not feel. And I'm sorry that you had to go through that. But I think that confessing to Lance is one step closer to helping you fully recover. It's obvious he likes you too. So maybe you should just go talk to him. So see what he says. To find out how he feels about you, and if he's in a relationship.”

“But… I don't know if I can.  
And I don't know if I'll ever be able to let that go. It's part of me now. It's the reason I can't sleep, it's the reason I can't love.” Keith felt tears burn behind his eyes. He tried to blink them away. And just remembering that night… 

“I know. I know. But please. I really want this to work out for you. You just need to believe that you can recover. That that horrible experience isn't a part of you. Because it's not. It doesn't define you. It doesn't change who you are. You've been trying to distance yourself in fear that that will happen again. But that's not how it works. You can't work past something when you dwell on it all the time.”

Keith looked up at Shiro, who had a look of utmost concern. Keith was thankful he had Shiro. Even when he had nothing else. 

“I think… I think that I want to try again.”

Shiro smiled at Keith. 

“I'll be here for you. I'll be here to help you through. Anything you need. You can always come to me.” Shiro stood up and ruffled Keith's hair. Keith groaned and tried to fix it. 

“Now how about something to eat?”


	6. Midnight Dilemmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry. It's still a little short. I'm just having a hard time finding time to write. I've got a lot of things going on now. But I worked hard to finish this one, and I hope you enjoy it!

Lance spent his time in his dorm working on his novel. Keith hadn’t come back yet, and it was around eleven. Lance was unsure of what to do. He knew that Keith could take care of himself, but he was worried regardless. For no good reason. Worried over Keith Kogane. Wow, he definitely seemed pathetic now. What a ridiculous thing. He was having a hard time writing, where he couldn’t actually focus on anything. He checked his phone a few times to find that he had no new messages. Lance shoved his glasses further up his nose and questioned whether or not he should get ready for bed, or just wait until Keith showed up. But then again, there wasn’t a guarantee that Keith would even come back. That worried Lance more.

Maybe if he had just denied Keith’s request to touch him, he wouldn’t have gotten into this mess in the first place. But, was it also this bad, or was he just being overdramatic. Lance had a dramatic flare, he couldn’t deny that. But maybe things would just go back to normal in a couple days. But… He wasn’t even sure if he wanted things to go back to what they were before. Lance ran a hand through his hair, closed his laptop and pushed himself off of his bed. May as well not dwell over things he couldn’t change. 

Lance spent a short amount of time getting ready, he had showered earlier so it didn’t take him long. He hoped he would hear the door open, to see hear Keith walk in, but he didn’t. 

Lance walked back to his bed and checked his phone again. Maybe he should phone Allura, she knew how to deal with things like this. He unlocked his phone and pondered over whether or not this would be disruptive. Impulse took control and he hit the dial button on his phone. A few rings, and Allura picked up.

“Hey it’s Lance. If you didn’t notice.” 

“Hey Lance, why are you calling so late?” Allura’s voice echoed over the line.

“I have something I need to talk to you about. I felt it was kinda important. But of course it can wait, if you needed to be doing something else.” Lance replied.

“You call me up at eleven thirty at night, on a weekday, then insist it’s not important. Tell me what it is.” Allura sounded exasperated.

“Oh. Well it has to do with Keith.” 

“Oh. Well, I guess I’m not terribly surprised. What happened between you and Keith? Did you finally work out the courage to ask him out? Did he reject you?”

“No. Nothing like that. It’s just that something happened. In the dance room. He might’ve given me some corrections. Do you remember how touchy Miss Kiana was? Yeah, like that. But worse.” Lance stuttered out. Miss Kiana was their old ballet teacher. She was grabby, and would make sure you were doing things correctly, legs positioned right, etcetera. She would do all this with her hands on your legs, shoulders, hips. Lance found it uncomfortable at times. Especially when she’d come up behind him and grab his waist, making sure he was stable, or hips level. 

“Oh my god really? That means he’s totally into you. Go for it.” Allura pleaded.

“I don’t think I can. I think he regretted what he did. I think he doesn’t want to be around me any more. I don’t know what to do. Not to mention Lotor…” Lance trailed off. 

“Lotor… Sports car boy? Do you like him. Tell me exactly how you feel about him. God Lance, you can’t just flirt with two boys at the same time.” 

“Lotor, is interesting. I like being around him, he’s nice. But I don’t think I could be in a relationship with him. It just doesn’t feel right.” 

“Well there you go. You better tell Lotor that. Please don’t lead him on.” Allura scolded.

“And when I do that, what do you think I should do about Keith?” Lance was pacing around the room now. Why could he never sit still talking on the phone? He always had to be doing something.

“I think you should tell Keith how you feel about him. It’s not going to be the end of the world if you do that.”

“And how should I do that? How do I bring it up?” Lance asked.

“Hmmm. Well, it’s up to you how you decide to tell him. You could be straightforward and just tell him, you could lead into it, you could get a wingman, or woman…” 

“I’m not sure yet. But thanks Allura. For being here for me. You’re the best at advice.” Lance said sincerely.

“Well I’m glad I can help. You’re welcome, and isn’t it my job as your friend to give you good advice.” Lance could hear allura laugh. “But I’m going to bed now. I can’t stay up all night when I’ve got work first thing. So goodnight Lance, and good luck.” 

“Thank’s again, night.” Lance ended the call. 

Lotor. Lance was going to have to figure out what to do with him. How do you politely reject someone? Lance could figure that out in the morning. He pulled his covers down and climbed into bed. The sheets were soft and comforting. An odd thing for a university dorm. Lance enjoyed them nonetheless. He drifted off to sleep sometime later.

 

****

 

Keith had dinner at Shiro’s place. Shiro insisted on telling him about Allura. Keith sipped absentmindedly on his drink. Shiro had brought him a spiced rum and coke, saying that maybe it would help sooth his nerves. 

“You’re all over her huh? Are you guys dating yet?” Keith asked him, swirling the ice around in the glass.

“Well, no, but I’m going to ask her out soon.” Shiro’s face had turned slightly pink. 

“What? You’ve known her for a while now, not to mention been crushing on her the whole time. And you haven’t asked her out yet? Unbelievable.” Keith rolled his eyes. He held out his glass, now empty and Shiro poured him another. 

“Well. I haven’t found a good time to ask.” Shiro muttered. Keith laughed at his weak excuse. 

“Take her on a nice date. Ask her out then.” Keith suggested taking another sip. 

“That seems too unoriginal.” Shiro muttered.

“Oh my god. You and your dramatics.”

“Keith shut up. I want it to be nice. Memorable. But I don’t know what she likes to do yet. And I don’t want to ask her in fear of spoiling the surprise.” 

“Well I don’t know what to do for you then.” Keith stated.

“Lance is close to her? What If you asked him?” Shiro suggested suddenly. Keith shook his head.

“Nu uh. No way. Don’t you have his number? We all have a group chat together.” 

“But I don’t want to text Lance. Besides this would give you an opportunity to talk to him more.” Shiro stated. Keith paused. He mulled the idea over in his head.

“Fine. Whatever. I’ll do it.” Keith stated.

“And maybe you can figure out what he likes to do in the process.” Shiro winked.

“Maybe.” 

They sat in silence. Shiro looked up at the clock hanging above the doorway.

“It’s like. Eleven thirty. You should probably go home. Don’t you have classes tomorrow?” Shiro asked.

“I don’t wanna.” Keith muttered.

“You can’t just stay here. I don’t have room. And how will you get to your classes tomorrow morning.” 

“Catch the bus really early? C’mon Shiro. It’s not like we haven’t slept in the same bed many times.”

“Ha. That’s a good joke. You’ll never be able to catch the bus in the morning. And you don’t have clothes. Last time I checked my things don’t fit you either. I’ll drive you back.”

“Ugh fine.” Keith reluctantly agreed. He stood up and walked to the door. He pulled on his coat and shoes and leaned against the doorframe where Shiro joined him, car keys in hand.

They walked to the parking area out back. Shiro unlocked his car. It was a black 2013 Chevrolet Impala, and Shiro was incredibly proud of it. Keith knew that tracking any bit of dirt in would probably get him killed so he was careful to step around the puddles that had formed on the ground. The car was cold and Keith shivered when he got in. 

“Maybe you should get a bigger coat.” Shiro suggested. Keith didn’t reply. He really needed to, the cold wasn’t his thing. He favoured the heat, hot desert sands, and something about fire had him captivated since he was a young boy. Red was his favorite colour. So maybe everything Keith liked had to be fiery. 

The drive back to the university was silent. There were very few cars around at this hour, and Keith just watched as the city lights went by. Shiro didn’t try to make small talk either, he was probably tired too. Where the bus took a good forty five minutes to get to Shiro’s driving only took about fifteen. 

“Hey Shiro. What would you think if I got a bike?” Keith asked breaking the silence. 

“Like a pedalbike?” Keith couldn’t see Shiro in the darkness, at least not really, but he assumed he was grinning.

“I’m just kidding. Have you saved up any? I know you’ve had your eyes on a, what was it called?”

“Kawasaki Ninja. They’re so nice. I have been saving. It’s just that moving to a new city was a little rough and I haven’t gotten a job yet.” 

“Yeah. I get that. Maybe you should start your job search tomorrow.” Shiro suggested.

“Would give me something else to do as well.” 

“Worry more about it later. You better go straight to bed.” Shiro said as they pulled into the university parking lot.

“Yeah. Okay. It’s not like I’m not used to getting no sleep.” Keith muttered. Shiro smiled at him sadly.

“Goodnight Keith.”

“Night. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye.” 

Keith shut the door to the Impala softly. Shiro would have his head if he’d slammed it. 

He took his time getting back to his dorm. He had stayed to watch Shiro drive off until he couldn’t see him anymore. Keith sighed. He continued to the room. He tried to keep things quiet as he unlocked the door to the room. The lights were out, and it seemed Lance had gone to sleep. Soft snores told Keith that he was correct. He pulled of his coat and shoes. He closed the bathroom door, and the only noise it made was the click into place. Keith only then flipped on the lights. He was used to sneaking out, so doing things stealthily was second nature at this point. 

He took his time, and flipped off the lights before opening the bathroom door again. Lance seemed to be still asleep. Keith turned on his phone to see where he was going, as his eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness yet. He slowly pulled his covers over himself as he climbed into bed. After the incident, Shiro would sometimes sleep with Keith in his hospital bed. Shiro was there to help comfort Keith when he woke up in the middle of the night. That sound… ringing through his head still. Before he was released Keith would still wake up in cold sweats, but it started to become less severe. Shiro wouldn’t have woken up, and Keith felt like he had just needed an escape. So he’d leave his room, slide into his wheelchair, and go for midnight adventures through the hospital. Shiro had caught him twice. And only twice before Keith figured out how to get out without waking Shiro.

 

Those habits still carried over. And Keith had managed to get to bed without waking Lance. 

 

****

 

Lance woke up in the night, and it was odd, because Lance usually slept soundly. Shortly after he realized it was because something else had woken him up. Keith was back, and Lance didn’t remember when he had entered. He was startled when he noticed that KEith seemed distressed.

He was rolling around in his bed, sometimes his body would shake. Keith seemed to have kicked all of his covers off his bed, because they were all lying on the floor. 

“No… Please….” Keith was muttering in his sleep, sounding distraught. Lance pushed off his covers and sat up. And then things took a turn. Violent tremors would shake his frame, he was muttering more things. But they didn’t make sense to Lance. Keith’s shirt was soaked, and his hair plastered to his forehead. Lance got up and walked over. Keith was kicking out at something, arms flailing.

“Hey, Keith…” Lance whispered then paused. 

But it had no effect, and Keith continued his violent fight off against an unseen force. 

“Keith…” Lance said a little louder.

Still no effect.

“Keith wake up!” Lance almost shouted. He grabbed Keith’s shoulders and had shaken him slightly. Keith’s eyes snapped open, he had grabbed Lance’s forearms and was looking terrified. He was breathing heavily, and Lance wasn’t sure what to do. But just like that Keith relaxed and let go of Lance. Lance could see the white marks Keith had left on his arms from gripping him so tightly. 

“You okay?” Lance asked gently as Keith sat up. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at Lance before quickly switching his gaze to his hands set in his lap.

“Now I am. Thanks.” Keith breathed.

“Yeah, no problem?” 

“This is why I needed a room to myself.” Keith laughed but it held no humor.

“Do you want to talk about it..?” Lance inquired.

“Not now. I don’t want to think about it.” Keith shook his head. Lance nodded. He put himself to work, pulling covers off the floor. They were wet? Which made sense because Keith was basically drenched in his own sweat, his hands had also felt clammy when he had gripped Lance.

“Dude. These are gross.” Lance muttered dumping the covers back on the bed.

“Yeah. Well I’m used to it.” Keith said pointing down at his shirt. 

“Yeah. Take that off. It’s gross too.” Lance stated.

Keith just shook his head and obliged. Lance watched as Keith pulled it off, working it from the waistband over his head. Like girls do? Lance swallowed hard and tried not to stare. He looked away politely just after getting a glimpse of rippling abs and creamy skin. 

“Now you’ve got me mostly naked, what are you going to do?” Lance could see that Keith had cracked a smile.

“Go dry yourself off, get a new shirt.” Lance turned away.

“Why, don’t you like what you see?” Keith asked. Lance was reminded of that one time he had walked out in only a towel.

“Ugh. Just go.” Lance waved in the general direction of the bathroom. Keith did as he asked.

When he had shut the door Lance ran his hands through his hair. He knew that Keith was only trying to be flirty to try and lighten the mood. Because at the moment things felt a little dark. Lance moved closer to the bed. He looked at the bed, it was soaked. Lance shook his head.

Keith exited the bathroom shortly after. Lance could see that he had changed his shirt and dried himself off. Keith walked over and started organizing his bed sheets again.

“Wait. No. You can’t just sleep there. It’s all wet and yucky now.” Lance stated.

“I already told you I’m used to it. Besides, it’s not like I have anywhere else to sleep.” Keith stated. Lance looked around. Keith was right. The couch was only little, and Keith was at least six feet tall, so that was a no. An idea crossed his mind, but he wasn’t sure if keith would appreciate it.

“Okay no. I won’t be able to live if I have to watch you climb back into that bed.” Lance took a deep breath, “come sleep with me.” There. He had said it.

“What?” Keith seemed shocked to say the least. Lance could feel his face heat. He was glad it was dark in the room, and the likelihood was that Keith couldn’t notice. 

“Come. Sleep. With. Me.” Lance spelled out for Keith. Keith shook his head.

“No, that doesn’t sound like a good idea.” 

“It’s a better idea than you sleeping in your own bed. Better than the floor. And better than the puny couch. So I won’t offer again. Besides, the bed is pretty big, and you can build a blanket wall between us if you’d like.” Lance offered. He didn’t like the blanket wall idea, but he wouldn’t say that.

“Are you sure..?”

“Yes, now come on. Time's ticking away, it’s like two am, and I need my beauty sleep.” Lance said exasperatedly.

 

Keith was glad that Lance couldn’t see his face in the darkness. He was sure he was a nice shade of beet red at the moment. It’s not like he hadn’t done this before. He had platonically slept with Shiro more times than he could count. Lance grabbed his wrist and led him over to his bed. 

 

Lance pulled Keith along with him as he lay down on his bed. Keith followed right after. Lance pulled the covers over both of them as soon as they were settled in.

“Did you want me to build that pillow wall or…” Lance trailed off. He was laying on his back staring at the ceiling.

“No, it’s fine.” Keith replied.

Oddly enough Lance felt relieved at that statement. 

“So you still don’t wanna talk about it?” Lance whispered.

“Not really…” 

“Alright. I’ll respect that. But I’m gonna want to know what you dream about if this becomes a regular thing.” Lance almost hoped it would

“This is only one time. Just for tonight. I don’t think your boyfriend would be too impressed if he knew you were sleeping with another man.” Keith muttered trying to hide the bitterness in his voice.

“I’m not dating anyone?”

“I thought you were.” 

“It just wasn’t working out. I decided I didn’t want to.” Lance didn’t mention that he hadn’t ended it yet. He also didn’t mention that currently a different boy held his interest. One with an attitude, soft black hair, purple speckled eyes, and who had experienced something tragic enough to have nightmares about it.

“Oh.” Keith replied softly. 

Lance couldn’t see Keith, who was currently lying on his side, facing away from Lance. Lance couldn’t see the small smile that curved his lips. Lance didn’t know at how Keith’s heart suddenly beat faster. 

“Night Keith.” Lance sighed and closed his eyes.

“G’night.” Keith whispered back.

 

****

 

Keith slept soundly. And surprisingly enough he didn't dream. Or at least, not from what he could remember when he woke up the next morning. And it was an odd feeling to wake up until the morning feeling rested, groggy, but not like he had been running in caffeine for the past two years. Which he basically had been. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, but he felt warm. He was holding onto something. Or someone, because it snores softly next to him. Keith opened his eyes to see Lance's still sleeping face, right in front of his. 

They were basically touching foreheads. Keith had his arms wrapped around Lances neck. Lance had one arm draped over his side, and the other rested under Keith's neck. Keith could feel his legs intertwined with Lances under the covers. His face heated, this wasn't supposed to have happened. He could hear Shiro's voice in the back of his mind, telling him over and over that he was a cuddler, grabbing on to whomever slept in the same bed as him. He also knew that there was no way he was going to make it out of this position without waking Lance. Meaning that he was definitely going to know about this, there was no avoiding it now.

Keith didn't even know why he had agreed to this in the first place. It had seemed like a mildly good idea at the time. But now it just seemed like trouble. But he guessed that it was sorta fine, because Lance had said he didn't have a boyfriend. So maybe that was a plus. Maybe not. Keith was still unsure of what he was going to do. What he wanted to do. Lance stirred next to him. He blinked his vibrant ocean blue eyes in the light streaming through the small window. He looked at Keith and a lazy grin spread across his face. 

“Mornin’ beautiful. Sleep well?” Lance yawned. 

“Surprisingly yes. Until you grabbed onto me. So let me go.”

Lance raised one eyebrow at his statement. 

“Uh huh. Are you sure it want you grabbing onto me. Like I know I'm irresistible?” 

“Yes.” Keith Lied, “now I need to get up.”

“Fine whatever.” Lance removed his arms from around Keith. Keith missed the contact as soon as it broke. He pulled away from Lance and sat up rubbing his eyes. 

“What time is it?” He yawned. 

“I don't know…” Lance rolled over to find his phone. 

“Shit.” Lance swore as he saw the time. His digital clock read 10:07. He jumped out of bed. 

“What?” Keith asked and Lance shoved his phone towards him. 

“Fuck! Don't you have an alarm? We're skipping out of class!” Keith exclaimed. 

“Don't you?”

Keith looked around to find his phone. Instead of connected to the charger it was sitting on his dresser. Dead. 

“What do. I do?” Lance groaned. Keith was running his hands through his hair. He sighed. 

“we've already missed quite a bit now. And Haggar will skin us alive if we're late. May as well not go.”

“Keith, what? I thought you were like, a model student?” Lance gaped at him. Keith shrugged. 

“I used to skip high school a lot. Y'know. Troubled past. Rebel teenager. I grew out of it when I came to university.”

“So you were the schools bad boy. You know what? I can see it. You fit the whole aesthetic. Drop dead gorgeous guy with a troubled past, has difficulty opening up to people. Yup. Totally fit the bill.” Lance laughed ignoring the fact that he called Keith gorgeous. Keith ignored it too. 

“Yeah.”

“So what do you suggest we do instead? Well I guess we could just stay here. But I won't be caught dead skipping class.” Lance said putting on his glasses. 

“Oh come now. Where's your sense of adventure? We should go do something.” Keith grinned at him. 

“Like?” 

“I've got a few ideas. Now hurry up. Get dressed. I'm going to shower quickly. Meet you back out here in ten.” Keith grinned.

Lance watched as Keith closed the bathroom door. He got dressed. And waited for Keith to come back out. And true to his word, Keith emerged shortly. 

“Ready? Then let's go.” Keith opened the door and Lance followed him out.


	7. Art Galleries and Ice Cream are a Good Mix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this up. Things have been hectic lately, and I took a lot of time to write this out. I almost feel guilty for not being able to post every day. But things are going to be like this for a little longer, but after I'm sure I'll be able to go back to my usual writing schedule.

The warm fall air was a nice change to the rain they had experienced for what felt like the past forever. Sunlight shone down, and the sky was devoid of clouds. No wind disturbed the air, which was nice because the wind was usually cold in september. And Lance found it especially nice. But maybe that was just because Keith strode alongside him. Keith was leading, two steps ahead of Lance, and Lance had no idea where they were actually going. 

“So. What do you like to do? Besides dance.” Keith asked him casually.

“Well, dance has been taking up most of my time. But I used to paint not so much anymore. I write, I’m working on a novel, but I also enjoy screenplays and things like that.” Lance replied. “And what about you?”

“I used to really like dance, and surprisingly I saw myself going places with that. But now that I can’t I’ve taken up art as a bit more than a hobby. I want to go places with it, do character sketches and stuff for animated movies and T.V shows. That kind of thing. I don’t really do much else.” Keith confessed.

“Yeah. I also used to like swimming. I took lessons along with dance when I was younger, but I decided that I prefered to Dance, and my parents told me I could only do one.” 

“Oh, I don’t really like water.”

“Do you even know how to swim?” Lance asked.

“No, I never got the chance to learn. I also did just say that I don’t like water anyways.”

“I assumed you weren’t. After all, you don’t look like you’ve seen much sun.” Lance laughed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“You look like a vampire dude. Never seen the sun?” 

“Shut up.” 

“You have the whole aesthetic too. Vamp-y. Like the mullet, and the always wearing black, you’re pretty close to emo.” 

“Excuse you. Black is my favorite colour. It looks good on me too. Well, I guess it’s actually my second favorite. Red is my favourite.” 

“I prefer blue. Red is too much of an intense colour.” 

“Seems like you.” 

“Hey, where are we actually going anyways?” Lance asked Keith suddenly. They were pretty far off from the university, and were getting closer to downtown. 

“It’s a surprise.” Keith grinned back at him. 

“Fine be that way.” Lance huffed.

“I think you’re going to like it. When do we have to be back anyways?” Keith asked him.

“My next class starts around twelve.” 

“Okay same. We still have lots of time, but I think we should hurry up.” Keith suggested. 

The downtown district of the city was nice. A lot of shops, old streets, old building, even a clock tower. The City Hall was another building, in where the architecture was to be marvelled at. Downtown was an interesting place, because there were all of the nice and new shopping districts and other buildings, and then there were the things that looked as if they had been around since the eighteen hundreds. Not to mention it was almost always busy, cars crowding the streets and people everywhere. It wasn’t bad because of the autumn, but the heat of today had brought people out. 

Keith led him to a large building, It looked old, but with newer parts added onto this. Lance was pretty sure he knew where he was now.

“You brought me to a museum and art gallery?” Lance laughed.

“Anything wrong with that?” Keith asked almost sounding nervous. 

“No, not really. But it’s definitely wasn’t what I was expecting?” Lance said as they walked inside.

“What were you expecting?” 

“I dunno. Something a bit more dangerous?” Keith chuckled at that.

“Really? I thought it might suit. Because, the art student thing. And besides, I heard that they got a new gallery of pieces in and I wanted to come look.” Keith explained.

The inside of the building was beautiful. The glass ceiling let in sunlight, enough for trees to grow in a row. This seemed to be the main entrance, a sign showed that the theater was to their left, museum straight ahead, and galleries to the right. 

“Stop ogling at the building, let’s go.” Keith grinned at Lance, who was looking at the walls, made of concrete and carved out to show what seemed to be greek gods and goddesses.

Keith decided he was going to try something. So he reached out to grab Lance’s hand to tug him along.

Lance was surprised at the new contact, but he didn’t protest it. And instead wove his fingers in with Keith’s.

They were greeted by an older lady standing at the desk outside of the doors to the gallery. She didn’t try to be subtle at looking at their intertwined fingers, she also didn’t try to cover up her look of disgust. Lance could feel Keith try to pull away from Lance, but instead of letting him go Lance just held on tighter. 

“I heard the new gallery has been set up?” Lance greeted her.

“Yes. Studios B and C.” She stated coldly. Before going back to her work, typing away at 

“Thanks.” Lance tugged Keith along inside. He heard her mutter something about ‘disgusting fags’, and he hoped Keith hadn’t heard. From the look on his face it seemed that he had.

“So, you’ve been here before?” Lance asked Keith.

“Yeah. Shiro took me when I first moved here. The artists here are really talented.” Keith replied.

“I hope that the work makes up for their lack of respectful staff.” Lance muttered.

It did. And Lance was content to just walk around and look at pieces quietly. He held onto Keith’s hand. The new galleries that were set up focused on aspects of human life and art. Some things were odd, Lance and Keith skipped over them until they made it to the centre of a walled area. Lance sucked in a breath at the beautiful artwork that spanned around the square area. Four pieces that barely fit on each wall, each was a realistic black and white portrait of four different dancers. 

“I’ve seen many things, but I think these are my favourite this far.” Lance stated.

“These are new. I like them as well.” Keith breathed. There was an undertone of sadness to his voice and Lance could see it in his eyes. Lance was still curious as to what had happened to Keith to make him drop out of dance. But Lance decided that he wasn’t going to push it.

“Come on, we’ve still got the rest of the gallery to check out. But I was thinking, that if I actually wanted to skip school to go on a date, I want ice cream as well.” Lance pouted, Keith flushed red.

“I don’t think this is actually a date…” Keith stuttered, Lance rolled his eyes.

“Well it turned into one when you brought me to an art gallery and held my hand the entire time. So now I think we should finalize it by getting ice cream.” 

“Fine. I guess I can do that.” 

“Great!” Lance exclaimed. 

He practically dragged Keith through the rest of the galley, only stopping to look at things that had caught his eye. A small, but beautiful painting of a mountain creek, another design of flowers done in thousands of tiny spaced out dots. Lance liked looking at artwork, and he wondered to himself if that was normal or if art people were generally just weird.

After they had looked at everything inside, they left, and lance made sure to annoy the Lady sitting at the desk some more. He pulled keith a little closer, until they were walking almost shoulder to shoulder. She locked a steely gaze with Lance, who returned it all too glad when she broke eye contact first.

“There’s a new ice cream shop just on the way back to the university. I wanted to try that place.” Lance voiced.

“Yeah. Okay, that sounds good.”

Keith’s attitude had improved after they were out of the sight of the lady sitting at the desk. Lance wondered if he had gotten looks like that before. He didn’t seem to be used to them.

“Hey, does it bother you when people do that?” Lance said waving off in the direction of the gallery. Keith understood.

“Well yeah. Does it bother you?” Keith asked Lance surprised.

“Nope. I just accept that they have a stick up their ass, and that they’re terrible people. I also try not to care what people think of me. After all, you can’t please everyone.” Lance shrugged. 

“I guess. I’ve just had bad experiences. Homophobia isn’t rare. And one of my foster parents sent me to church every day to do confessions and other dumb rituals to help ‘cure’ my homosexuality. I think I was fifteen. They also made me break up with my first boyfriend. I was switched to a better home not too long after, things were better there. I managed to stay in the same city, and I still danced with Shiro. Dance was a better part of my life growing up.” Keith reminisced.

“I can understand that. My parent’s didn’t take it too well when I came out to them as bi. They’ve since accepted me, things are mostly back to normal. So that’s alright.” Lance smiled weakly.

“So we’ve both had our share of troubles.” Keith stated looking into the sky.

“Yeah.” 

Their conversation had died out, but Lance occupied himself looking for the ice cream shop he had seen on his way there. Finally he found it, he knew it had just opened, but had heard from a few people that the ice cream there was really good. The outside of the store was decorated in pink and blue, with the sign hanging above the doorway. Fall themed window art decorated the outside and it all looked really inviting. The people coming out of the store held cones and assorted shaped bowls, all filled with ice cream, and all looking delicious.

Lance looked at Keith to see that he didn’t seem nearly as excited as Lance. Lance tried to cool his expression of glee before Keith noticed, but to no avail.

“Are you really this excited about ice cream? You look like a little kid.” Keith laughed, raising one eyebrow.

“Food of the gods. And I’ve heard the ice cream here is the best in the city.” Lance pouted.

“Ah, okay?” 

“Come on.” Lance tugged Keith along into the store.

Lance had noticed before they entered that this place seemed really popular. He was correct. There was a sizable line just waiting to order. Lance was happy to stand and wait if what he got tasted as good as they looked. Soon enough it was their turn. Lance ordered something that seemed as if it was going to be like a banana split. Keith was boring and ordered a soft serve vanilla cone.

“Really dude. I’ve never been so disappointed. Especially with all these options…” Lance sighed and turned towards Keith.

“Excuse you. Vanilla soft serve just so happens to be my favourite.” Keith placed a hand over his heart feigning offense. 

“Well, I won’t give you any of mine if you get bored of your boring ice cream.” 

“Wow, I didn’t know you were ice cream elitist.” Keith said.

“I just know what’s good.” Lance winked.

Lance was reluctant to let go of Keith’s hand, as he needed it to pick up his treat, bowls and spoons required both hands. Luckily for him the ice cream made up for it. It was served in a bowl that looked like a boat, as it was called a banana boat. It had vanilla and peanut butter ice cream piled between two bananas. Chocolate syrup was drizzled over and a light layer of crushed peanuts were sprinkled over to. Lance had never felt compelled to take a photo of his food before.

“Come on Keith. Sit down with me.” Lance pleaded and headed towards an empty booth. Keith just shook his head, but followed anyways. They sat down together, and took a few moments of silence just to enjoy their ice cream. It was blissful and Lance had to stifle back a moan when he tasted it. 

A ping from Lance’s phone brought him out of his blissful state. Slightly annoyed at the interruption he looked down to see a new message. From Lotor. Lance turned off his phone, ignoring it for the time. He knew he was going to have to confront Lotor sooner or later. Preferably later, because things were too good at the moment to be distracted by another boy. 

“What’s the time?” Keith asked idly.

“Class starts in half an hour. We should probably get back soon.” Lance mused disappointed after looking at the clock on his phone.

“Alright. You can finish that while you walk.” Keith stated. He had finished his cone, Lance was almost done his.

“Okay.” Lance’s voice was muffled through a bite of the cold treat.

They made their way past another group entering, and walked back into the autumn sun. The walk back was also quiet. Neither of them seemed to know what to say to the other, and Lance was just trying to savour these last few moments of time alone with Keith before they were thrown back into the bustle of the school halls. Lance discarded his empty bowl in a trash can beside the street. 

“So, for skipping class to go do stuff, how was that?” Keith asked. He was glad his voice came out strong, instead of nervous, Like he was feeling.

“You know. I actually enjoyed it much more than Haggar’s class.” 

“Wow, with low standards like that…” 

“Shut up. I loved it.” Lance laughed before adding, “Haggar likes you though. What’s with that? Do you think she might have a crush on you or something?” He joked.

“Why, are you worried you’re going to have competition?” Keith grinned. Lance felt the heat sneaking up the back of his neck. He looked away quickly to avoid being seen blushing.

“No.” 

Keith laughed at Lance’s short statement.

“Not to my taste anyways. Women aren't really my thing.” Keith shrugged. 

“What? Really? I thought you were bi. By the amount of girls that trailed you around the school when you first joined…” Lance trailed off and then felt his face grow warmer. He had openly admitted that he had paid attention to Keith before the apartment fire and dorm incident. 

“You paid attention to me?” Keith asked mildly surprised. Like sure, he had noticed Lance briefly, because he kinda stuck out. And then at the bar things just kinda escalated, Keith was pretty sure Lance still didn't remember that. His hip was sore for days after. 

“Well. New kid, ya know? Not like I had particular interest.” A bold lie. Lance scratched the back of his neck absentmindedly. 

“Huh.” 

They had finally reached the university. 

“I'm going to my class, I'll see you later.” Lance said cheerfully and walked off in the opposite direction. 

Lance left Keith behind, and only felt kinda bad about it. But he had skipped class, and that wasn't something he would normally do. It made him anxious to get to his next class early. Perhaps to compensate for his earlier actions. It was empty when he got there. Taking a seat he waited for the bell to ring, soon it did and the rest of the group started filing in. 

Lance's mind wasn't on the lecture. He was more focused on thinking about what had happened with Keith earlier. And what to do with Lotor. An idea came to him and he decided that he would text Lotor back after this class ended. Lance ended up bitterly impatient, tapping his fingers against his desk as a way to occupy the time. He heaved a sigh of relief when the signal came saying class was done. 

He marched out and decided to head straight to the dance room. His first class would start soon, and he wanted to have the time to write out a message before then. So he did it on his way to the dance studio. Lotor had asked him if he wanted to go on another date. So Lance pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and started typing. 

‘Hey. I would like to get together with you sometime because I have some things I'd like to talk about with you. How does Friday night sound, I've been busy with dance and my classes so then is the only free time I have.’ Lance wrote out. His finger hovered over the send button for just a moment. He pressed down, locking his phone and dropping it to his side. He felt I vibrate in his hand. But ignored it to wait until later. After he finished. 

His dance groups were doing well tonight and Lance had a sudden bout of inspiration. He usually had his choreography planned out at lunch, but today he was, elsewhere, so he managed to do well creating it during class. He felt a lot more engaged with his students, sometimes listening to their suggestions and it really helped him connect with the older class. The older class had been bitter towards him at the start of the year, because he had replaced their usual teacher, but things were getting better. They seemed to enjoy class a lot more. Making Lance feel accomplished at the end of the day. 

The last dancer had left so Lance walked over to the stereo to check his phone. He knew Lotor had texted back and Lance felt a little on edge. He also felt a little guilty, because, as Allura had said, he was really just leading Lotor on. And that didn't sit well with him, regardless that he hadn't done it it intentionally. 

‘Is everything alright? But yes, I'm free then, and we can meet.’ Lotor had replied. 

‘Yeah, things are alright. How about I'll choose the place this time?’ Lance hit send. 

‘Of course, Update me when you've figured it out.’ Lotor replied immediately. 

Lance nodded down at his phone. He wasn't sure where he wanted to go. Somewhere not far from the university, because he had no means of transportation. There were a few places of interest around the university. The thing was just picking one. And then he kinda had to figure out a speech to present to Lotor. Well maybe a speech was a little extra, but still. Something along those lines. 

Lance wasn't entirely sure if he actually wanted to head back to his room or not. Oh, wait. 

‘Movie night still on? What do u guys wanna watch?’ Hunk had messaged their chat. 

Lance internally kicked himself for forgetting. He was the one that suggested it in the first place too. But today had been a little hectic, and he was preoccupied for most of the time. 

‘Yeah it's still on. Let's watch Alien. The first one. Because it's good and i haven't seen it in awhile.’ Lance messaged back while on a rush back to his room so he could shower. 

‘If they're not on Netflix it's not happening.’ Pidge messaged back. 

‘Guys, ur killing me. Fine. Hunk can choose something. But not sappy.’ Lance replied. 

‘Aw Lance. You're no fun.’ 

Lance snorted at that. Hunk had a thing for sappy movies, which were fine. And secretly Lance enjoyed them a little. But Hunk wasn't allowed to know that. It would ruin his resolve. Because something about the same romantic cliches had him hooked. 

A quick stop into the room for a showe showed that Keith was not there. That didn't bother Lance at all and he took his time. He pulled on a pair of comfy sweats and a tee before leaving the room to walk over to where Hunk and Pidge roomed together. He knocked and Pidge answered the door. 

“Hey Lance. Come in.” Pidge greeted casually. Hunk was sitting on the sofa in front of the T.V, he was flipping through Netflix shows. Hunk looked at him smiled, and beckoned him to come sit down. Lance obliged, falling down onto the cushions beside Hunk. 

“Didn't bring Keith?” Hunk asked him. 

“No, why would I bring Keith?”

“Aren't you two dating now?” Hunk asked raising one eyebrow. 

“What, no!” Lance spluttered. He tried to regain his composure before asking, “why didn't you bring Shay? Aren't you two dating now?” Lange smirked when he saw Hunk flush red. Ha, payback was a bitch. 

“No…” Hunk muttered. Almost uncertainly. 

“You haven't even asked her out?” Lance sighed exasperated. 

“No. And when did this switch to me talking about my dating life?” Hunk asked. 

“Since Shay sent you that picture she took? Were you guys talking a lot before then? Does she like you?” Lance questioned. 

“We did talk before then. She's really nice. And that picture she took…” hunk grinned at him. 

“That's when we decided you were dating, or otherwise incredibly oblivious, or hardcore in a state of denial.” Pidge interrupted sitting down with a huge bowl of popcorn. 

“Excuse you…”

“Oh, and where were you this morning?” Pidge asked nonchalantly. 

“Uh… wait. How did you know I skipped?” Lance asked suspiciously. 

“I didn't. Not until you just told me. I meant, you didn't come down to eat with us, and you weren't in the dance room. Hunk checked. So why were you skipping? And where did you go?” Pidge was grinning wickedly. 

“I slept in.” Lance stated. 

“So, you still could've come to lunch.” 

“I went downtown.”

“Really? By yourself?”

“No why would I… wait. I mean yes. I was alone.”

“You just said you weren't so who were you with?” Pidge’s glasses reflected the light of the tv, making her look like one of those anime characters with glasses. 

“Nobody.”

“I bet it was Keith.” Hunk suggested. 

“No!”

“It was.” Pidge waved her hand. 

“Well. Maybe I should've invited your boyfriend. I can text him now…” Pidge trailed off unlocking her phone. 

“Pidge, you fucking wouldn't.”

“Watch me.”

And with those words Lance leaned over to grab Pidges phone, she held it out of her grasp, and thus a great struggle ensued. Both trying to hold onto the phone. Lance won, but only because he was bigger than Pidge, even if Pidge was fast, Lance was still able to grab her phone. He deleted the half written out message and put the phone beside him. 

“Are you guys done yet?” Hunk sighed. 

“Yup!” Lance replied cheerfully. 

“No. Give me back my fucking phone Lance.”

“Nope!”

“Guys. Seriously. I was thinking we should watch this.”

Lance looked at the screen to see what Hunk had chosen. 

“Dude. That's a cartoon.” Lance sighed. 

“But Voltron Legendary Defender is the best! And the characters are awesome. Personally the yellow paladin is my favourite.” Hunk gushed. 

“Okay, fine. We can watch your dumb cartoon.” Lance rolled his eyes and Hunk lit up at his words. 

“Great! I've already watched both seasons like twice. I'm sure you'll love it. It's about space adventure, kinda like what you enjoy writing about Lance!” Hunk was practically oozing excitement. 

“Ooh, okay. I'm ready. Let's go.” Lance said, significantly more excited over the cartoon.” 

“It looks like an anime?” Pidge asked. 

“It's not. Just watch.” Hunk shushed Pidge. 

The first episode was like a solid hour long. And Lance practically begged hunk to let them watch another. They ended up watching three episodes before Pidge practically shoved Lance out of the room, telling him that she needed to sleep because classes were stressful and tiring. 

So Lance wandered back to his room only to find Keith sitting on the bed sketching. He nodded at Lance when he entered, which was new. But Lance wasn't complaining. Lance was tired from his adventures over the course of the day, and he knew he had to be well rested for tomorrow, going back to early morning classes. He made sure his alarm was set, phone plugged in, pulling the covers over himself he waited until Keith's light went out. He fell asleep shortly after that.


	8. Decisions Made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have hit our downwards spiral...

Tuesday night Keith couldn't sleep again. He woke up in cold sweats, shaking, as per usual. Luckily he hadn't woken Lance up this time so he just organized his things, pulled on his running clothes and left. He didn't actually run this time. His hip was bothering him more than usual. Which tends to happen. Absentmindedly he ran his fingers across where his scar was. He hated it. Hated that it was there, and that it ended his dance career early. He shook his head, speeding up to a light jog. Ignoring the pain and stiffness that came with injury. 

 

****

 

Lance woke up Thursday morning to notice that Keith wasn't in bed. It's not like it had happened before, but now he was more sure of why he was gone. Lance wondered what it was that caused his nightmares. He knew it had to be pretty traumatizing for Keith to still be bothered by it. Lance figured he might have PTSD from, something. Keith wouldn't say, and Lance wasn't going to push him. 

He prepared to go to his classes, collecting his dance stuff together. He also mulled over the idea of where he was going to take Lotor tomorrow night. That was something that had been plaguing his thoughts since he had decided what he wanted to do. He tried to brush it off, to get into the mindset for today's classes. With his things packed in his bag, he slipped on his shoes and left. 

The morning passed mostly uneventfully. The same schedule. Dance wasn't a highlight like it might usually have. Lance didn't know why. Shay hadn't shown up in the past few days, making him wonder what was going on. So after he was done his self practice he walked over to the art studio. He noticed again, that there weren't very many people in there. He found shay almost immediately. Walking up to her he looked at what she was doing. 

Right now she was working on a rough sketch on a huge piece of canvas. She had paint prepped in bottles on a desk to her side. 

"Hey Shay." Lance greeted, and she jumped. She whirled around only to relax when she saw Lance. 

"Oh, hey Lance. What's up?" She smiled at him twirling a pencil in her hand. 

"Oh, I just wondering what you were working on. You weren't in today, so I assumed you had something ready to go for your project." 

"Oh! Yeah, absolutely! Thanks again by the way. You really helped. And now I've got this," she said gesturing to the canvas. 

"Do you have a sketch of what it's going to be?" Lance asked her. 

"Yup. I was trying to keep it covered up until it's done, but since you are the model I guess I can make an exception." She smiled slyly, before turning around to grab the black sketchbook sitting on her desk. 

"I was inspired..." She mumbled flipping it open to a page before handing him the book. Lance noticed her face was a little red. 

Looking down he saw 'the picture' printed out on a sheet of paper. It was modified a bit, and she had sketched in some some flowers and music notes. Overall, it looked really pretty. 

"I just... I thought it was a really nice scene. Intimate. And I just wanted to paint it. So  
I'm sorry if I offended you in any way.." Shay sounded nervous, and she was twisting her hands together. 

"It's good. I forgive you." Lance laughed. "But what does Keith think about this?"

"He doesn't know yet... I hope he'll be okay with it as well, he's only ever been really nice to me. I was just worried about it. I wanted to ask his permission, but he might've said no, and I really really wanted to do this." Shay rambled.

"He doesn't know? Maybe you should tell him?" Lance suggested. 

"I don't think I can do that, besides. It'll be changed from the original photo. He might not even notice." 

"But it's possible he will?"

"Then I'll deal with those consequences when I get to them." She grinned at him. 

"What consequences, for what?" A voice behind them asked. 

Shay and Lance both flipped around to see that the person there was Keith Kogane himself. Shay suddenly turned red. 

"Nothing. Things are fine." Shay stuttered. 

"Okay? How's your project coming?" Keith asked her. Lance was surprised to see that he was being so kind to her. 

"Good, im just working on the rough sketch." She smiled politely. Lance felt a little ignored. But then again, he wasn't in this class, and Keith had no reason to talk to him here. 

"Can I see?" Keith asked stepping a little closer. Shay tried, in vain, to cover up the canvas with herself. 

"Nope. It's a secret. You're not allowed to see it yet." Shay grinned at him. 

"It's going to be hard to keep that" Keith gestured to the huge canvas, "under wraps."

"Maybe I'll just move it to the corner of the room. Then you can't look."

"Maybe." Keith smiled at her, and then turned to face Lance. 

"Didn't miss much in class yesterday." He smiled slyly. 

"Nope." Lance was a little surprised that Keith would even acknowledge him  

"Wasn't that bad. See you around Shay." Keith waved and walked out of the door. Lance was a Little confused about that encounter. 

"What?" Shay asked. 

"I don't even know." Lance shrugged. 

"Oh? Has something else happened between you two? Y'know. Since the dance thing." She asked him curiously. 

"Uh. Well, we might've skipped class yesterday..." Lance trailed off. 

"Both of you! Really! Together? That doesn't sound anything like Keith?" Shay furrowed her eyebrows. 

"Uh. Yeah. It was a bit of a mistake." Lance ran a hand through his hair. 

"You guys are cute together." Shay beamed. 

"Oh, thanks?" Lance felt his face flush. "But hey, when can I start to expect you to start showing up at games and movie nights? With Hunk." Lance smirked at how her face went red. 

"Uh, he hasn't asked me out yet? We're just friends?" 

"Something tells me you're not. Besides. Hunk's a good guy, you should go for it." Lance waved one hand dismissively. "Maybe I'll try and get him to invite you to movie night. If he doesn't you can always come as my friend." Lance grinned. 

"I don't know about that..." Shay trailed off. 

"I'm sure everyone else would enjoy having you around. You're pretty great you know? Even Keith likes you." Lance chuckled. 

"Oh, okay, maybe. It's just that I'm not sure if my brother Rax will want me to." She muttered. 

"There's six of us. And you make seven. Two other girls as well. Though I'm not sure Pidge quite counts as a girl." Lance added. 

"Then maybe."

"Great! I'll totally invite you. That is if Hunk doesn't. It'll be fun!" Lance exclaimed. 

"Okay, that sounds good. I might like that."

"Awesome. Thanks for showing me your art. I've got to go now, but I'll see you around." Lance promised. 

"Bye Lance." Shay smiled. 

Lance hummed to a song on his way out, and all the way to his next class. He was pretty sure Allura would like Shay, and she was nice to be around. Lance felt proud that he actually managed to convince her. The hard part was trying to convince Hunk. 

Alike to the morning, the rest of the day managed to pass Lance by. Without anything interesting happen. When he got back to the dorm he worked on his novel until Keith came in. Keith noticed Lance on his laptop. 

"Working on the essay?" Keith asked. 

"No, my novel." Lance replied. 

"Oh, cool. Would you mind if I asked you what it's about?" 

"Space. Adventures. You know. Stuff." Lance stated. He couldn't really reply while typing. 

"Cool."

"Yeah."

They lapsed into silence. Filled with the click of keyboard keys. Keith had taken out his sketchbook and started working on something. 

"You're in Shay's class right?" Lance asked flipping closed his laptop. 

"Mmhm." 

"Are you doing the same project as her?"

"Yup."

"Do you have any plans?"

"Not quite yet. I did want to do it of a dancer." Keith replied. 

"I'm still usually in the studio at lunch." Lance stated. 

"I didn't know if I was welcome." Keith replied. 

"Mm. Well. It's not like I minded having you there." Lance felt heat creeping up the back of his neck. 

"Oh. I thought after..." Keith trailed off and then looked away. 

"Nah dude. It's fine. You can show up if you want." 

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

"No problem." 

Lance got up to get ready for bed. It was still early, but he thought he may as well get things done now. When he emerged from the bar heron he saw that Keith was only sitting with his sketchbook open. He was tapping his pencils eraser to the page, and scrolling through his phone with the other hand. 

"Artists block?" Lance asked. 

"What?"

"You know. Like writers block, but more artsy." 

"I guess so. I just don't feel like drawing right now. Even though I know I should be working on my projects sketch." 

"Do you want me to pose for you or something?" Lance joked. 

"Uh. That actually might help." Keith replied. 

"Wait. So you actually want me to?" 

"I mean, yeah. It's fine by me. You're a good reference." Keith replied. Lance wasn't sure what to do. 

"What do you mean by that?" Lance was curious. 

"Well, you have a nice body, with good muscle definition, you're flexible, and yeah." Keith's words apparently didn't exactly register in his mind. Because he kept a straight face saying that. Lance however was sure he had turned into a tomato. 

"So what do you want me to do?" 

"If you want you can just sit down on your bed." Keith replied. 

"Anything in particular you want me to do?" 

"Nope. You choose. It was your idea after all."

Lance shrugged. He sat down heavily on his bed, shifting until he was laying on his side. He shifted into a pose. 

"Draw me like one of your French girls." Lance winked. And was glad to see that Keith was trying to hide his own blush by raising his sketchbook.

"Nope. Do something else." Keith demanded.

"Aw but you said I could do what I want."

"Anything but that." Keith had fully hidden himself behind his book. 

"Fine." Lance huffed moving into a different pose. "Better?" 

"Yes."

Lance stayed as he was for a little while, until Keith asked him to change. He grabbed his phone, and would scroll through Instagram for the time he had spare. Surprisingly it got a lot more comfortable the more time went on. Lance made a mental reminder to ask Keith about his drawings later. 

"That's good. Thanks." Keith told him eventually. Lance just nodded and shifted out of the pose he was sitting in. It had gotten much later, surprisingly enough. Keith had been drawing for a while. Lance just took time to crawl under his covers. Eventually Keith snapped his book shut and walked to the bathroom. Lance leaned over to turn off the lamps, darkening the room. He heard Keith come in sometime later.

Lance shifted around throughout the night. He couldn’t seem to fall asleep and stay asleep. He was nervous about what he wanted to do tomorrow night. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, and what he wanted to say, it’s just that he was worried about what would happen if he did. He didn’t want to be hated. He also knew he was going to be tired tomorrow if he couldn’t get to sleep, so he tried in vain to lay still. 

Keith had been quietly sleeping for some time, and Lance was left staring at the dark ceiling. He drifted into a fitful sleep, awakening when he heard movement from Keith’s bed. Turning over he opened his eyes to see that Keith was sitting up in bed. He was pulling off a soaking shirt. Lance’s stomach sank, he knew why Keith was up. Keith stood up and went to his drawers, he pulled out a pair of running shoes, shirt and shorts. He was in the middle of lacing up his shoes when Lance spoke.

“So is that what you do when you can’t sleep at night.” Lance mumbled. He saw Keith jump.

“Oh my god Lance, I nearly had a heart attack.” Keith breathed placing one hand over his chest.

“Aren’t you tired?” Lance continued, his voice foggy with sleep.

“Yeah, but I know I won’t be able to fall back asleep, so I just go run. Besides, I’m used to four hours of sleep a night.” Keith muttered lacing up his shoes.

“You were able to fall back asleep with me.” Lance stated.

“One time. Doesn’t mean I’m going to be able to again.”

“Wanna try? For science?” Lance murmured. Keith paused.

“Science?” 

“Yeah, come on. Lay down.” Lance pulled back the covers and patted the spot beside him.

“Once.” 

“Let’s make it twice. Besides, if you can’t fall back asleep, you can go on your run, and tell me ‘I told you so’ in the morning.” 

 

“Okay fine.” Keith sighed, and kicked off his shoes.

“Really?” Lance asked surprised. 

“Yeah, move over.” Keith pulled off his running shirt, and then his shorts. Leaving him in his boxers, but at this point he was too dead to care. The last time he had a full sleep was with Lance. That had fucked up his sleep schedule, and he’d been suffering all day. Lance moved over to the other side of the bed, and Keith climbed in with him. Lance threw the covers over them both.

Lance actually enjoyed sharing his bed with Keith. Because at this point he was well in over his head. Neither of them said anything more. And it was actually Keith who fell asleep first. Lance watched him for a bit. He was beautiful, Lance couldn’t deny. The way his hair fell into his face as he sleeped, the way his brows ceased to furrow, the way he puffed out air through his lips as he slept. Lance knew he had fallen hard, and there was no helping what might happen next. Lance reached out and brushed away a piece of hair that had fallen into Keith’s face. Keith murmured in his sleep at the action, and Lance was worried he had woken him up. But Keith was still asleep when he reached out for Lance. Still asleep when he shuffled a little closer. Lance smiled weakly. This boy was going to be the end of him. But he knew he should enjoy it while it lasted.

 

****

 

Lance woke up to the blaring of his alarm. He opened his eyes to see that the side of the bed he kept it on was occupied by someone else, who stirred. Keith leaned over to grab Lances phone and shut the alarm off. Like before they were tangled together in a mess of limbs and sheets.

“Science.” Lance said, his voice was coarse with sleep.

“You win.” 

“Mmhmm.” 

“Maybe I just sleep better with someone else. Shiro used to before I moved out. I guess things just got worse after. But I didn’t realize, and instead just found a coping mechanism.” Keith yawned.

“You and Shiro dated..?” Lance asked after a pause.

“No. He’s basically my older brother. We grew up together.” Keith smiled. Lance lat out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Oh. Allura and I are basically the same.” 

“I knew that.”

“How?”

“You still don’t remember that night?” Keith groaned.

“No? Care to inform?” Lance asked confused.

“Nope. I’ve got to get up and get ready.” Keith stated extracting himself from Lance’s hold.

“Keeeeiiith, you can’t just leave me hanging.” Lance whined.

“I absolutely can.” Keith said standing up from the bed.

“Rude.” Lance muttered watching Keith walk to the bathroom. With him only in his boxer shorts, Lance definitely enjoyed the view.

Lance left shortly after Keith did. 

He spent the rest of the day stressing about his talk later with Lotor. It was going to be something like a break up date. Something he had only done once before. Just because he believed that courtesy came first, and breaking up over text was generally a dick move. He managed to pay attention to everything in class, surprisingly enough. He also knew that the other dance teacher was going to be in today, so that gave him something less to worry about. It’s not like this wasn’t already something that had constantly plagued his mind, it was just that without the extra dance classes he could find some time to focus on himself. 

The end of the day came soon. He walked down to the dorm to shower and get ready. Throwing on some black ripped jeans and a white tee he messaged Lotor to meet him in the foyer of the school. They were going to walk from there.

Lance had planned out a quiet walk around the river bottom. It was nice out today, as it had been for the past little while, so Lance decided he only needed a small jacket. On his way there his phone pinged, telling him that Lotor was waiting.

The school was pretty quiet, except for the few people down in the cafeteria who had gone to eat. Keith wasn't in the dorm, so Lance wondered if that was where he was. 

Lotor was sitting on a bench in the foyer, as he had said. He had pulled his long platinum blonde hair back into a ponytail, and was wearing a black sweater and blue jeans. He looked nice, as usual, and maybe that was just because this was Lotor. Lotor looked up to see Lance and he smiled. Lance returned it, but he thought it might’ve looked more like a grimace. 

“Hey Lance, where did you want to go?” Lotor asked him standing up.

“Oh, I was just hoping to go on a walk through the trees. I needed to talk with you. Today was nice, so I thought it would be a good time to go.” Lance replied nervously.

“Yes, and the orange leaves and low sun will be beautiful. Perfect for a romantic walk.” Lotor winked.

“Yeah… Let’s get going before the sun sets.” Lance said, and Lotor started walking with him out of the university. Because it was built on the side of the coulee the river wasn’t that far away. They walked past some of the other buildings, all part of the university. Down the steps into the river bottom, and onto a well walked path. It was paved, and the wind didn’t blow as harsh through the trees, so the setting of the walk was perfect for a date. If only Keith could've been the one coming with Lance. And if only this entire thing wasn’t orchestrated to break things off with someone. 

“So what did you want to talk about?” Lotor asked breaking the silence.

“Oh..”

“I hope it’s that you’ve decided you don’t like your dorms and want to come stay with me.” Lotor interrupted.

“Uh…”

“Because after all, you don’t need to be there when you’re with me. And personally I don’t like that you have a roommate.”

“Why not?” Lance asked, this was going a different direction than intended.

“I just feel like it creates a rift between us. And honestly I need you around. You’re mine after all.” Lotor said smoothly.

Lance looked off into the sunset coloured leaves of the tree. What did he mean by that?

“So come with me. I’m sure that’s the reason you brought me here.” 

“Lotor wait…” Lance said uneasily.

“Would you look at the trees. THe way the sunlight glints off the water. It’s all so beautiful. Just like you.” Lotor breathed, ignoring Lance.

Lotor turned towards Lance suddenly. Grabbing him by the arms, and stepping closer. Lotor was only a few centimetres away. Lance could feel his breath on his neck.

“We’re technically dating already.” Lotor said leaning in. Lance almost tried to pull away.

“And I need you around.” Lotor breathed against Lances neck.

“You don’t need anyone else… When you have me.... I think I’m in love with you.”

Lotor breathed those words like they were nothing. Like they held no meaning. But Lance was still shocked to hear them. Shocked enough that he didn’t pull away when Lotor leaned back. When he tipped his chin up. When Lotor’s lips pressed against his.

Lance had had many different experiences with kisses. Some good, passionate, sweet. Some awkward ones. But this just felt like he was suffocating. Like he was forced. Lotor had him in a vice grip, and wasn’t giving up. He might smell like spice and musk, but he tasted sour.

Lance struggled briefly before managing to break away. Breathing heavily. He tore his arms from Lotor’s grasp.

“No…” He panted.

“What do you mean?” Lotor smiled at him, but it looked more wolfish than anything. Like a predator come to devour his prey, knowing he had already won. 

“No.”

“Explain.” The grin had faded, and was replaced not with a look of confusion, but one of bordering anger.

“I’m sorry. For that I made this look like a date when I really came to express my intentions. Listen. You’re great to be around, an interesting person to talk to. But you’re beautiful, and way out of my league. I feel like this can’t work for me, on any grounds. So expressing that, I’d like for you to know that I hope we can still remain acquaintances when we go our separate ways.” Lance stood his ground and expressed.

“You can’t be serious.” Lotor looked half shocked, and half enraged.

“But I’m sorry. Because I am.” 

“No. I told you I loved you, what more can you want! You’re being selfish! After all I’ve done for you!” Lotor growled.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t ask for any of that…”

“No! There has to be another reason. Another person who has done better than I have. That has taken you away from me. Didn’t I tell you that you are mine!”

“Lotor…” Lance took a step back. Lotor had torn his hands through his hair, ripping out the ponytail. It was left in a mess of wisps that blew around his face.

“It must be someone else! Perhaps that roommate you’re so happy to be with. What has he done for you? Did he seduce you? Or did you go with him like the little whore you are?” Lotor cursed.

“No. It’s nobody's fault. And I’m leaving.” Lance tried hard to make his words not shake, some divine being must’ve heard his pleas because they came out loud and strong.

“Don’t you fucking walk away from me!” Lotor barked at Lance’s receding back.

“Goodbye.” Lance shouted out. Over the wind that had seemed to come up out of nowhere. He quickened his pace, trying to gain distance. He looked behind himself to see that Lotor had stayed where he was. He watched him turn away and march in the opposite direction.

“I knew that taking in a dirty whore was more trouble that it was worth.” Lotor’s last word’s towards Lance carried over the wind to him. And they stung.

More than the cold wind that whipped at him. More than the freezing rain that started to spike against his face. And at sometime Lance realized that the wetness on his face wasn’t just because of the rain now splattering against the ground.


	9. When Things Go South...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I'd like to celebrate 1000 hits, yay! And Thanks to everyone for their support!
> 
> I also have like two songs that I think fit this chapter so well. Or at least I listened to them over and over writing this.  
> Point of no Return, by Starset (I fucking love Starset)  
> I Found, by Amber Run

The walk back to the university was cold, wet, and windy. Lance also thought that might have been an understatement. The rains had come back, and with a new chill, seeming to foreshadow the coming of winter. The heavy drops of icy water hit the ground, blown to a diagonal path because of the wind. A couple of leaves blew past his face, torn from the branches of the trees.  The storm only got worse. The rain falling harder and faster. And despite the one chilling cold that came with being soaked through to the skin Lance only walked back. 

He knew that things could have been worse. But still, it wasn't pleasant. Being screamed at, by someone he had liked left a mark. And maybe they didn't get to physical violence, but being swore at wasn't much better. Lance thought that maybe if he had slapped him it might've hurt less still. Lance felt guilty, the rational part of his brain was silenced by such a strong sense of guilt. Over why he had broken up with him. And maybe it did count as cheating when he was flirting with Keith. 

Lotor didn't deserve what he had gotten from Lance. And Lance was also partly aware that the only reason he had yelled was simply because of the pain Lance must've caused. 

So to summarize. It was Lance's fault that things had happened how they did. 

By the time he had reached the dorms his eyes were stinging, and clothes soaked to his skin. Vaguely he noticed that he was shivering. Unlocking the door he walked in to be met with a startled looking Keith.

“Oh my god, Lance. What happened?” Keith gasped. He put his sketchbook to the side and got up from his bed.

“Nothing.” Lance muttered kicking off his shoes.

“Obviously it’s not nothing. You come back in soaking wet… and have you been crying?!” Keith exclaimed stepping closer.

“No. It just started raining when I was out for a walk. The wind hurt my eyes, and that’s why they’ve been watering.” 

“That almost sounds convincing. Tell me what actually happened.” Keith demanded.

“Why, it doesn’t concern you.” Lance lied. He didn’t care what he said to Keith right now. He was hurting, and he really just wanted everything to go away.

“But…”

“No. Fuck off! I told you it doesn’t matter so why are you still bothering me about it!” Lance yelled. Keith flinched. “Don’t try to act like you care.” Lance muttered.

“Fine. I was just going to leave anyways. Deal with it on your own.” Keith spat. He got up to grab his sketchbook off the bed and pulled on his shoes. He shouldered past Lance on the way out. He didn’t move.

Keith didn’t actually have anywhere to go, and he realized this as soon as he had left the room. He pulled out his phone. Shiro was at a dance practice, so that wasn’t an option. Turning on his phone he scrolled through contacts to find a name. When he did he sent a quick text. They replied almost immediately. Keith started walking.

Lance didn’t move for several minutes after Keith had left. The tears were fresh again and rolled down his face. He had already made a spot wet on the carpet from water dripping from his clothes. The extra salt water didn’t add much.

“Fuck!” Lance screamed out to nothing in particular.

He whipped off his coat and threw it to the floor. He paced around the room until exhaustion hit and he collapsed on his bed.

“Fuck…” He whispered. 

He had officially ruined everything within the span of three hours. He had gone to make things right, and only managed to make them worse. And to add to his already existing guilt that he felt over Lotor, he found a new wave of remorse from yelling at Keith, who had only wanted to help.

He rolled over onto his bed, curling up on the covers. Why was he so fucking stupid? Why did he have to ruin everything? Why did this always happen? 

A fresh wave of tears rolled down his cheeks. He sniffed. There was no making things right anymore. Not after what he had done, to two people that may have held feelings for him. The thoughts made him feel more like shit, if that was even possible.

He was torn out of his misery when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out and wiped the moisture from the screen. The caller ID told him that it was Allura. He cancelled the call and shut off his phone. Weakly he threw it off the bed. It landed with a quiet thump on the carpet. There wasn’t much more he could do, he didn’t feel like doing anything. He was cold, and exhausted.

So after many minutes of laying there he finally drifted into a fitful sleep. 

 

****

 

Keith had found the dorm room that was sent to him. He knocked, rather forcefully, not what he intended, but oh well. He waited for a few minutes before the door opened.

“Hey Keith… What was so important that you needed to come over?”

“It’s Lance. I need advice.” The way he said it, and the way his voice broke at the end must’ve been convincing enough. Hunk just opened the door wider and stepped to the side.

“Come in.” He said gently.

He walked in and saw that Pidge was sitting on her bed, sketching on her laptop. She shut it when she saw that he had come in.

“Woah, Keith… Are you okay?” She asked sitting up.

“Honestly no.” Keith could feel the tears stinging at the backs of his eyes. He ignored it. There was no way he was going to cry.

“What happened?” Hunk asked gently.

“I don’t actually know? It’s just that Lance came in, he seemed distraught, and when I asked him about it he yelled at me.” Keith explained.

“Doesn’t seem like Lance.” Hunk said frowning. “Why don’t you come sit down? Calm down a bit. I can run down to the cafeteria to see if I can make some hot chocolate. You look like you need it.” Hunk said gesturing towards Keith.

“Yeah… I think I need a minute too.” Keith muttered.

“I’ll be back in a bit.” 

Hunk left the room leaving Pidge and Keith there by themselves. Keith wiped his eyes, only to feel the wetness at the corners. He desperately tried to dry them, hoping that Pidge wouldn’t notice.

“So. Do you want to tell me what happened, or do you wanna wait till Hunk gets back.” Pidge ventured.

“Let’s wait.” Keith muttered.

“Okay.” Pidge replied. There was an awkward pause. 

“Hey Pidge, How did you manage to get a dorm with Hunk anyways? Don’t they have rules against members of the opposite sex rooming together?” Keith asked. The thought had occurred to him before, he just didn’t have the time to ask before. Pidge grinned wickedly.

“That is a story.” Pidge started. “So at the beginning I was roomed together with a girl named Nyma. She was, well for lack of a better description, a total bitch. She didn’t like that I was ‘little’, and that I looked like a boy. Hunk had a room to himself and I asked him if I could come room with him. Which, of course, was fine with him. The problem was, yes, that my gender entered in the school database was female. So there was no way of me getting in with him. Which of course easy to fix. I may or may not have hacked into the database. May or may not have changed my gender. May or may not have switched my residential accommodations up. I just had to wait until they realized, which was pretty quick because of Nyma’s constant complaining. They apologized so many times for putting me in the wrong room. And bam! I was rooming with Hunk instead.” Pidge smiled finishing up her tale.

“So you literally hacked into the school mainframe to change your accommodations?” Keith gaped.

“Yup.” Pidge chirped.

“And you’re here to do digital art?” 

“Yup.”

“Oh my god.” 

“Oh please. I can’t just make a living hacking into things.” Pidge rolled her eyes.

“Snowden.” 

“Shhh. I like art better anyways.” 

“If you say so.” Keith laughed.

The door to the dorm room clicked open and Hunk emerged. He was carrying a canteen and three paper cups. 

“I managed to find something.” Hunk said holding up his things. Keith smiled weakly.

“Oh man. Pidge what’d you do? Keith doesn’t look nearly as bad he did.” Hunk smiled.

“Roommate stories.” Pidge shrugged.

“Oh yeah, that was awesome.” 

“It was.” Pidge agreed.

“So Keith. What drove you to come over in the first place?” Hunk asked pouring some hot chocolate into the cups. Keith’s stomach sank when he realized he was going to have to tell them the story. He had just almost gotten it off of his chest.

“Oh. Okay. You better sit down.” Keith said. HUnk obliged, handing out the cups before he did. Keith sipped the steaming beverage.

“Guys. I don’t know what to do. I was just drawing when Lance came into the door sopping wet. He looked like he had been crying? So I asked him what was wrong, and you know Lance, he didn’t say anything.”

“That sounds like Lance.” Pidge stated.

Keith put his cup down before continuing. “ So I prodded a bit more and he still wouldn’t say anything. Instead he just flew off the wall, screamed at me. And at that moment I was mad, so I just left. I didn’t know what to do after. So I panicked and just came here.” Keith covered his face with his hands.

“And you just left him there.” Pidge stated unamused.

“I didn’t know what else to do!” Keith croaked.

“You better go back. Try and talk to him. He probably just needed some time.” Hunk reassured.\

“What if he doesn’t want me around? He’s mad at me for prodding.” Keith muttered.

“Fuck. Keith. Just fuck.” Pidge groaned. “He likes you. Go back and talk to him.”

“I don’t know…”

“Just go do it. I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure he needs someone there for him.” Hunk said gently.

“Yeah. Get the fuck out. Go talk to that boy. Confess your undying love.” Pidge stated.

“Uh… What?” 

“Just go talk to him. Ask him what’s wrong.” Hunk suggested.

“You sure it’ll help?” Keith asked uneasily.

“Yes. Go.” Hunk and Pidge both demanded in sync. Keith nodded standing up. 

“Thanks guys.”

“Just. Try not to freak out if he gets mad. When he’s stressed he says things he doesn’t mean.” Hunk said. Keith nodded again. He pulled on his shoes.

“See ya.”

“Bye Keith.” 

Keith opened the door and walked out. He took a deep breath and then headed back to his dorm room. He pulled out the key and unlocked it. Walking in he noticed that only some of the lights were on. Lance was lying on his bed, curled up into a small ball. Keith noticed that he hadn’t changed out of his damp clothes, and that his phone was thrown onto the floor.

Keith proceeded into the room quietly. He kicked off his shoes by the door. The only noises in the room were of his and Lance’s own breathing. 

“Lance?” Keith asked cautiously walking up towards him.

“Didn’t I tell you to get out.” Lance muttered. He was facing away from Keith, muffling his voice.

“Yup. But I’m back.” Keith breathed.

“I just want to be alone.”

“Sucks to have a roommate.”

“Yeah.” Lance mumbled. Keith sat down on the bed besides Lance. And with no protest Keith assumed he could stay.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Keith prodded. Lance was silent for a moment.

“It’s all my fault.” Lance mumbled.

“What?” Keith asked confused.

“I’m a horrible person. I lead people on. And then they get hurt. Why are you back anyways. I thought you might hate me too.”

“Why in the world would I hate you?”

“Because I’m horrible.”

“It’s going to take more than a petty fight to get rid of me.” Keith laughed quietly.

“No. You don’t understand. I’m horrible because I lead people on. Horrible because I break things off with them when they get attached. Horrible because I’ve done it so many times. Horrible because I didn’t tell you I had a thing with someone else. Horrible because I cheated.” Lance’s voice broke.

“What did you do?” Keith asked quietly. 

So Lance told him everything. About his dates, how he lead Lotor on when he knew he didn’t really like him. How he took advantage of Lotor. How Lotor had called him a whore, and how he was right saying that. Keith was shocked at the answer. It wasn’t what he was expeting at all.

“First of all. It’s not your fault.” Keith stated after hearing the whole story.

“No, you don’t understand. It really is.”

“No I think I understand perfectly fine. I know that people lose attraction, I don’t think you lead him on. I also believe that he had no good reason to blow up at you like that.” Keith felt a new type of rage. One towards Lotor. The words Lance had told keith about what he said were oh too familiar. 

“But…”

“No buts. I promise you I’ve been through something like that before. Where there is someone who can’t understand how you feel. They’re selfish and will try to guilt trip you into doing things. They’ll insult you if you don’t want to. You need to realize that none of this was your fault.” Keith said and gently put a hand on Lance’s shoulder.

“Fuck. You’re cold.” Keith exclaimed.

“Well. I am soaked.” Lance laughed bitterly.

“You need to change out of those. If you get sick, you’re not going to like it.” Keith scolded.

“I’m too tired.”

“Nope. Get up. Go have a hot shower, change into some new clothes.”

“I don’t feel like it.” Lance whined.

“No arguing. Get up. Go. Or I will literally carry you there.”

“Only if you shower me off as well.” Lace shifted to look at Keith.

“Uh. No. You’re old enough to shower on your own.” 

Lance groaned as he shifted off of his spot on the bed. He shivered as soon as he stood up. Keith noticed and pointed in the direction of the bathroom. Lance pulled off his shirt and tossed it onto the floor where his jacket was as well. Keith tried not to stare. Every time was a new experience. And Keith found it difficult to not rake his eyes over the smooth tanned skin. The ripple of muscles. 

“Do I still have to.” Lance whined looking back at Keith before pouting.

“Yes.”

 

Lance still felt like shit. But as soon as the water hit him he felt a little better. The cold had soaked through his skin, and he had left the water on hot enough to scald. He barely felt it. Keith was acting surprisingly motherly. In a forceful way. But Lance appreciated it. And despite everything wrong with the world, he had felt the slight urge to call Keith ‘daddy’ when he started demanding things. That thought had lightened him up a bit. He hadn’t, because that would have been weird. But still.

Lance stood in the stream of water, contemplating Keith’s words. He had been surprised by the forcefulness of Keith's last statement. When he had told him that he had his own experiences. The way he had explained was chilling. Maybe that was contributing to his nightmares? Lance still wasn't sure about anything. And the good thing was that Keith had come back, and wasn't bitter over the entire ordeal. Lance decided that he had moped around enough, and now it was time to get back on his feet. 

Lance shut off the water and grabbed a towel. His skin was red, because of how hot the water was, but at least now he was warm. He grabbed a towel and dried himself off as best he could. He was going to get dressed when he realized he hadn't brought any clothes in with him. He would have to go and walk back out in a towel. But maybe it wouldn't be as bad this time. They had slept together enough times, partially naked. 

Keith was sitting on his bed texting when Lance walked out of the bathroom. He looked up when he heard the door open. 

“Any better?” Keith asked, still sounding concerned. 

“Yeah. A lot actually.” Lance smiled weakly. 

“That's good.”

“Yeah.”

Lance pulled some clothes out of his drawers before walking back to the bathroom to get changed. Keith watched him as he went. 

The room stayed quiet. Not uncomfortable, at least. Lance grabbed his phone off the floor and sat down heavily on the couch. Turning it on revealed 43 new messages, and 10 calls. All from Lotor. 

Lance rubbed his temples. They were all along the lines of apologies, littered with insults. They were frequent over the past hour, only stopping 14 minutes ago. 

Lance frowned and Keith must've noticed. 

“What is it?” Keith asked. 

“Catch.” Lance threw his phone at Keith, who caught it in one hand. He turned it on to look at the lock screen. Something in his expression changed, and Lance didn't know if he was reminiscing, or maybe a trace of fear? 

“From the guy you broke it off with?” Keith asked. 

“Yeah.”

“Block him.” Keith stated in a monotone voice. 

“What?”

“Just. I don't know how to explain. It's probably better you block his number.” Keith muttered before gesturing that he was going to throw the phone back. Lance held out his hands and Keith did. Lance almost didn't catch it. 

He opened it and deleted all of the messages, the missed calls, the voicemails. He opened up to the contacts to block the number. 

“Done.”

Keith nodded in assent. 

The silence that hung over the room was then shattered by knocking on the door.

“What in the…” Keith got off of his bed to check who it was. 

The knocking came again, louder, more aggressive. A sinking feeling came to Lance. He was just about to tell Keith to stop, but the damage was already done. Keith opened the door to see who it was, only to reveal a very disheveled man with white blond hair strewn around his face. 

“I'm sorry, you must have the wrong apartment.” Keith said confused. Lance was frozen to the spot. 

How did he find me? Lance wondered. 

“No. I am most definitely am in the right place. My father is on the board. Lance you can't just run away.” Lotor sang out. He pushed past Keith in an effort to get through. 

“You thought you could leave me?” Lotor asked stepping closer to Lance. Keith had realized what was going on so he tried to block Lotor's path. 

“I'm going to ask you to leave.” Keith stated, calm but deadly. 

“You can't fucking tell me what to do. Get out of the fucking way.” Lotor spat in Keith's face. 

“No. Get out.” Keith repeated, anger cracking through his voice. Lance was still rooted to the spot. He thought that he was done with this. 

“No. Lance. You can't leave me. I told you I loved you, and yet you still come back to this piece of trash. I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sure we can make up.” Lotor growled. The way he was talking, how he looked. Something clicked.

“Are you drunk?” Lance blurted out. 

“Might've had something to drink… But it doesn't matter. Come back with me.” Lotor whined. 

“No get the fuck out. Don't bother him any more.” Keith stood his ground. Blocking Lotor from coming in further. 

“What are you his dog? No let him do as he pleases.” Lotor smiled maliciously. 

“Lance you just have to…” Keith trailed off. 

Lance paused. What did he want?

“Lotor. I already said I'm sorry. So please leave.” Lance muttered tiredly. Keith backed him almost instantly. 

“There you go. Now get the fuck out.” Keith was retaining his calm demeanour well. 

“No don't fucking tell me what to do.” Lotor hissed at Keith. 

“Lance told you what he wanted, now. Get. Out.” 

“I told you not to tell me what to do! Get the fuck out of the way!” Lotor had lost all calmness he might've held before. He tried to shove Keith out of the way, Lance watched it unfold in slow motion. 

Lotor lunged away from Keith and towards Lance. 

Keith grabbed Lotor pulling him back towards the door. 

Lotor raised a fist. 

The rest was a blur of screaming, swears, a sickening thunk of a fist connecting with skin. Keith staggering back. Lance jumping up to shove Lotor out of the door. 

The door slammed. Lance leaned against it for a moment, listening to the heavy pounding on the door. Silenced right away by loud voices. Someone had, thankfully called security, and when the noise died down Lance walked back over to Keith who was kneeling on the ground. Holding the side of his face. 

“Whoa, are you okay?” Lance asked concerned kneeling next to Keith.

“Yeah. Bastard split my lip. My jaw will probably colour a nice shade of purple too.” Keith laughed bitterly. 

“Let me see. After all, you’re hurt because of me.” Lance asked gently.

“Not because of you. A crazy boyfriend isn’t your fault.” Keith sat back heavily. Lance sat down in front of him, crossing his legs.

“But still.” Lance reached out to clasp Keith’s wrist. He pulled it away from his face.

“Pretty ugly now huh?” Keith smiled but swore when it stretched the cut on his lip. The side of his jaw was splotched purple and red, his bottom lip was swollen where the skin had split. Lance shook his head.

“You’re beautiful regardless. I think you need some ice for that though.” Lance reached out to gently run his finger along Keith’s jawline. Carefully he ran his fingers over to where the split was. Lance barely brushed it, he still saw Keith wince.

“No I really think you should get some ice for that.” 

“Not going to do anything for a split lip.” Keith shook his head.

“What if I kiss it better? Will that help?” Lance murmured. One of Keith’s eyebrows shot up. But soon he settled back into a more neutral expression.

“I mean you could try.” Keith breathed leaning in closer.

No more words needed to be said. Lance leaned over, reaching out to tilt Keith’s chin up. Lance took in the sight of Keith before him, pausing for barely a second. All he was thinking was how pretty he looked, ruffled hair, cheeks flushed, stormy eyes flecked with purple. And the way he looked at Lance, the softness of his expression. The slight concern for Lance’s well being still hidden in his expression.

Lance wondered how in the world he had gotten so damn lucky.

He leaned a little closer. Breath’s mingling, Keith eyes fluttered shut. Lance closed the distance.  
Their lips met softly. And the world melted away, the earth span underneath him. There was nothing else in this moment but the two of them. It was exhilarating, a new feeling of bliss. Lance decided in that time that there was nothing better than having Keith’s lips on his own. Sweet and temperate, it only lasted seconds. Lance drew back in fear of hurting Keith’s split lip.

“Feel any better?” Lance smiled gently. Keith just smiled and laughed.

“A lot better.”


	10. Broken but not so Easily Mended

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "But I found in you, what was lost in me  
> In a world so cold and empty  
> I could lie awake just to watch you breathe  
> In the dead of night, you en-dark on me..."
> 
> Lyrics;  
> Dark on Me: by Starset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might've cried writing this? And I hate to leave you with something so heavy, but here goes.
> 
> !!TRIGGER WARNING!! for:  
> Abuse, gore, mentioned suicide.  
> !I'm writing what happened at the end if you just want to skip the entire chapter and read the notes at the end!

Lance eventually insisted that he go get some ice for Keith’s jaw. It did look pretty bad. So he took some time to think on his way down to a nearby corner store. The school was closed, as it was like eleven.  He brushed his fingers across his lips. They still tingled from the kiss. Lance smiled at the memory. 

It took him a short time to get there, and another short walk back. The rain was still falling, but the wind was gone, making it much more gentle. Lance was wearing his contacts today, so the raindrops didn’t blur his sight. The chill was still heavy, but the recurring memory of Keith’s lips on him kept him warm. 

He walked into the room to notice that Keith had gone in for a shower. So Lance waited around, sitting on his bed, until he came back. Keith emerged from the bathroom only wearing sweats. His long black hair dripped water. Droplets sparkled across his chest and shoulders. And despite the ugly purple bruise spreading across the lower half of his jaw and his swollen split lip he was still breathtaking. 

Lance realized he was turning into a sappy romantic.

“I did get you some ice.” Lance said holding up an instant cold pack. Keith sat down opposite of Lance on his own bed.

“I thought I didn’t need it but now…” Keith worked his jaw, setting two fingers on the spot coloured the darkest shade of purple. “I think I do.” 

“You’re welcome.” Lance laughed popping the pack. It grew cold, but his already cold hands didn’t notice.

“Here.” Lance offered Keith the pack. His warm fingers brushed over Lance’s cold ones before taking the pack from him. 

“Thanks. Though if I’m being honest I could probably use your hand as an ice pack.” Keith smirked.

“They’re not that bad…” Lance said rubbing them against his jeans in an attempt for the friction to warm them.

“Pretty bad.” 

Lance just rolled his eyes.

“If you’re done in the bathroom I think I’ll go get ready.” Lance stated. He grabbed some clothes from his drawers. He didn’t take long getting ready. Keith  was looking at his phone, cold pack still pressed against his jaw. 

“Should I turn off the lights? It’s pretty late and it’s been a long day. We should probably go to sleep.” Lance asked, Keith nodded and Lance flipped off the main lights, leaving the two bedside lamps still alight. 

He crawled into his own bed turning off his own lamp, he was still cold. Lance hated the cold. He much preferred the heat to the cold that seemed to set deep in his bones, and would refuse to leave. Keith shut off his phone and sighed. He got up to plug in his phone. But he didn’t immediately go back to his bed. He paused and a shudder ran over his body. He shook his head. Lance watched it happen. But it was gone as soon as it had come, and Keith was back to normal. 

Keith shut off his own lamp plunging the room into darkness. Lance could hear the shuffling of covers. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

 

****

 

Lance wasn’t sure how many hours he had stayed awake. He couldn’t sleep again. All he could think about were today's past events. He shuddered thinking about Lotor. He knew of the boyfriends that were possessive like that. And there were enough murder cases in which the significant other of the victim was the one who had pulled the trigger. He shuddered with those thoughts. At least it hadn’t gone that far. And Lance was lucky he ended it before anything worse could happen. Even if what had happened wasn’t the best it could have been. It could have been so much worse. 

Lance closed his eyes and tried to clear the thoughts from his head.

 

****

 

Lance was awakened another time in the night. But this time it was Keith that woke him up again. He was shifting in his own bed, whimpering. His covers had fallen to the floor again, and the sheets were wrapped around his legs. Lance wasted no time. He hopped out of bed and rushed over to Keith. He grabbed both shoulders, to feel clammy cold skin beneath his fingers. 

“Keith! Wake up!” Lance whispered frantically, shaking him a bit. Keith jolted out of the dream, his eyes snapped open. Lance saw Keith search his face. Lance could feel the tense muscles relax under his grip. 

“Lance! I… I just…” Keith stuttered.

“Hey. It’s alright. I’m here.” Lance reassured him. Keith closed his eyes and breathed out heavily. He nodded. Lance pulled his hands back.

“Do you want to…”

“Can I come sleep with you?” Keith interrupted him.

“Yeah. I was just going to ask.” Lance told him. 

Keith sat up, and pulled the sheets from around his legs. He stood grabbing covers off the floor and threw them on the bed. Lance reached out to clasp Keith’s hand, tugging him back towards his own bed. When they were both settled a silence drew over them. Keith was the one who interrupted it.

“I think, I want to talk about it.” Keith whispered.

“Only if you’re sure. Don’t feel any obligation from me.” Lance shuffled a little closer, and gripped Keith’s hand a little tighter.

“Yeah… I think I just want to get it off my chest.” Keith continued. Lance nodded.

“I’m going to start out by saying that I have post traumatic stress disorder.” Keith muttered.

“I think I might've guessed.” Lance murmured. Keith looked at him, surprise in his eyes. 

“So I have PTSD, and the reason behind that is because of my ex.” Keith continued. Lance furrowed his eyebrows.

“How..?”

“It’s kinda a long story. But I can shorten it for you if you’d like.” Keith offered.

“No. I’ve got time. I’ll listen.” Lance shook his head. Keith nodded again. He took a deep breath. 

“Okay. So. It started out two years ago. I met this really charismatic guy, and just the way he talked, I was smitten. He was a few years older than me. I was seventeen at the time. I didn’t have any real parents either, and my foster ones weren’t the slightest bit concerned with my well being. So they didn’t ask about me, and I wouldn’t ask about them. Now this guy ended up running into me at many places, which maybe I should’ve found creepy, but I didn’t. Again, he was just so charismatic. He knew I danced, knew when I turned eighteen I had a guaranteed spot in a dance company, thanks to Shiro, who I had danced with for many years before. He was really nice to talk to, we flirted a lot. I didn’t care that he was older than me. And eventually he asked me out. Technically I knew this was wrong, because I was still a minor at the time, but he payed attention to me, genuinely seeming to care about me. And for a boy that grew up without real parents, it was a new experience. And it felt really good.” Keith laughed bitterly. Lance felt the need to wrap his other arm around Keith.

Keith continued on, “So we ended up dating. And he even asked to gain custody of me until I turned eighteen when we could be together legally. I told him that it was unnecessary because my birthday would come soon enough. I found that to be my first mistake. He flew off the wall, ended up hitting me hard enough to bruise. But he snapped out of it, apologized over and over again, told me he loved me, and promised it would never happen again. And because I was young, stupid, and thought I loved him, I stayed. Things were fine for a while after that. But I still was dancing, and I still had to be at school, leaving me with little amounts of time to be with him. He seemed to grow jealous, of my friends at school, and my close relations with Shiro. This was almost a month after the first incident. My phone died, and I went over to Shiro’s for supper, forgetting that I had told him I’d be with him tonight. When I got back to him he screamed at me again. Threw a glass vase against the wall. He told me he wanted me to drop out of dance, and school. He told me he could care for me. I knew that was a pretty far fetched statement, he did have a job, but I knew it didn’t pay well. I told him I’d be a burden, and I promised that I’d never leave him again. A stupid thing for me to say.” Keith took a deep breath.

“So things mostly went back to normal. But he started texting more, asking exactly where I was, when I was going to leave, who I was with. Eventually he started blocking my friends numbers from my phone when he would see me. He would take it away, he knew my password because he had watched me type it in without me knowing. He eventually blocked Shiro’s number around my eighteenth birthday. I went over to Shiro’s the day before my birthday, and he asked me why I had blocked his number.I didn’t know at the time, and that was when the truth of my boyfriend came out to him. I didn’t tell him about the abuse. Shiro disapproved, but I ignored that, told him I was fine, that I loved my boyfriend. He was just insecure, and sometimes had jealousy issues. Shiro still didn’t like it, but he was accepting anyways. That night he told me that tomorrow the position would be open at the dance company, and that I could join. My birthday, being right around graduation, he told me that as soon as I finished school I could start. I was ecstatic.” Keith smiled sadly.

“So things mostly went smoothly right up until graduation. My boyfriend was pleased. I hadn’t told him about the dance company yet, because I was unsure if he’d let me. So I joined without him knowing. The company was great, but dance companies move around a lot. So a week before our first show in another city I told him about it. He got really mad. He swore. He broke things, punched through a wall, threw things at me, hit me. But when he had calmed he did the same thing. Promising it would never happen again. That he was so sorry. But I think I snapped out of my daze as soon as a glass hit me that he threw. It left a cut along my lower hip, slicing through my pants and skin. Then I realized I needed to leave.” Keith took a shaky breath.

“So when I left that night I decided not to come back. I went to Shiro. Who welcomed me with open arms. He didn’t scold me, he said he was just sad things turned out that way. He helped clean the cut, iced my bruises, and told me he was glad that I could pursue my dream without worries of an abusive boyfriend. And part of me was relieved too. I loved dance, and I could see myself doing it for many years ahead. I officially ended it over text that night. I sent the message, and blocked his number. I was free. Or so I had thought.” Lance could see tears glinting in Keith’s eyes.

“I loved dance so so much. It was a passion I had always held. I could feel free, invincible, while I was dancing. And the company was a dream come true. So for the next two days I poured my heart and soul into the choreography. I quickly topped the rest of the students. Those few days were the best of my life. I didn’t know that it wouldn’t last.” A tear rolled down Keith’s face. Lance pulled his arm from over Keith to wipe it away. Lance left his hand resting gently on Keith’s uninjured cheek.

“What I didn’t realize was that I had a stalker. And when we moved cities I didn’t realize he came with. Shiro and I had our own hotel rooms. And to this day I am thankful. Because if Shiro had been with me that night, I knew he would have died. It was late one night. And I heard gentle knocking on my door. Shiro used to get nervous before competitions, and when we would stay in a hotel with separate rooms sometimes he would come to my door, knock quietly, and we would stay together for the night. The habit was so ingrained within me I didn’t check the peephole to see who it was. And I still haven’t lost that habit. But that was the fatal mistake. Because when I opened that door I found my stalker. He barged in, and slammed the door behind him. Now I might’ve not survived that night if he hadn’t slammed the door, hadn't yelled at me. Shiro woke when he heard the door slam. Called the police when he heard the shouts.” Keith was crying now, tears falling onto the pillow. He took a shaky breath, and continued.

“My stalker was my ex. Fist he yelled at me for leaving him. And i could feel the same fear I had each night he had thrown things at me. But this time it was worse, it was like I could feel the murderous rage inside of him. He yelled, demanded I come back with him. And when I refused he pulled out a gun. He told me then, quieter, that nobody else deserved me. He told me then that he loved me again, too much to share. I refused again. And then he told me if he couldn’t have me, nobody could. He raised the gun. The first shot echoed loud, he was shaking, crying, the first shot missed entirely. Shiro had been knocking and yelling at the door for some time then. But he said when he heard the first shot he tried to break the door down. He showed me the bruises that he got then. The second shot was delayed. It was when the police showed up. But that shot didn’t miss. But it wasn’t a good one either. At point blank range, he shot my hip. That was when I started screaming. Because you can't imagine the pain that I felt then, I can’t even remember it. It was the kind of pain you experience when you can feel your flesh rip open. I could feel my hip shatter. My attacker was startled by my screaming. That was when the police broke down the door, guns raised. He tried one last shot at me, hitting just below the first, and if the bone hadn’t shattered completely it did then. Surprisingly I managed to stay conscious for the entirety of the encounter. And oh god, I wished I had passed out after the first shot. Because when the police demanded he dropped the weapon I remember hearing the hysterical laugh that came from him. I remember his bloodshot eyes, the tears that rolled down his dirty cheeks. I remember the last shot. The one where he raised the gun to his own head. I remember that he whispered he was sorry. I remember the last huge bang. I remember feeling his blood on my face, my blood on my hands. I remember the way his skull caved, and how his brains splattered the wall behind me. But then I passed out, right as I heard the thud of the body fall next to me.” Keith shuddered, more tears fell, and Lance was horrified at the tale. But Keith wasn’t done.

“I woke up in the hospital three days later. I had lost a lot of blood. They told me I was lucky I survived. But then they told me that the shots had shattered my hip. That they were going to try to reconstruct it. That they were going to have to put in so many metal pins. And that’s how I got a hip replacement at eighteen. They told me I would never dance again. They told me again and again that I was lucky I had survived. At the time I wished I hadn’t. But Shiro helped me through. He was there for me when nobody else was. I still wished I had died. And I even contemplated taking my own life for a while. But Shiro helped pull me out. And for that I am eternally grateful.” Sobs wracked Keith’s body. And Lance pulled him closer. Keith’s tears dampened his shoulder. Lance ran his hands over Keith’s hair, rubbed circles on his back. 

It took a long time for Keith to calm enough. Lance waited patiently, digesting the story he had just heard. And when he pulled his head back Lance reached out to cup his cheek, damp from the tears that still ran down his face.

“I’m glad you’re still here.” Lance breathed out.

“Me too.”

Lance stroked the side of Keith’s face. The other hand still holding Keith’s. Lance leaned in, and Keith tipped his head back. Eyelashes damp with tears, he closed his eyes. Lance kissed him again. He could taste the saltiness on Keith’s lips. Keith leaned in more towards him. He didn’t break the kiss until he needed to breath. He rested his forehead against Keith’s. Looking into his eyes Lance spoke. 

“I promise I’ll be here for you. For as long as you need me.” 

Lance knew that fresh tears flowed down Keith’s face at those words. 

Keith pulled him closer still. They were barely inches apart, legs tangled together, fingers intertwined, foreheads touching. Lance was sincere in the words he had said. He hoped Keith knew that he had meant every single word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, so, so, sorry.  
> And sorry again, because it's pretty short.
> 
> (For those who skipped the chapter: Keith wakes up in the night because of his nightmares again. He tells Lance that he had an abusive boyfriend, who got possessive. He was shot in the hip, shattering the bone, ending his dance career. Lance pledges to be there for him as long as Keith needs."


	11. Stars and Dinosaurs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't had the time to post in a while! Sorry again for the length of this one!

The sunlight filtered through the curtains casting a warm yellow glow along the side of Keith’s face. Lance had awoken when the sun had risen, and yet he remained. Keith was sleeping, soft breaths puffed through his lips. And since Lance had nowhere else to be, and nothing better to do, he decided to not try and extract himself. They were tangled together again, Lance's arms curled around Keith’s frame, legs tangled together. They were chest to chest, and Lance didn’t want to wake Keith, which he knew was likely if he moved.

He thought over everything Keith had told him the night before. He knew that things wouldn’t be the same any more, he had felt a shift last night. Their relationship had changed, and the words he had said… He had meant them, he hoped Keith knew it. It was also a sort of promise. Binding them together. Lance removed an arm from around Keith’s waist to brush a piece of hair away from his face. Lance let his fingers brush over those defined cheekbones. Lingering.

Keith squinted his eyes open, Lance wondered if that had woken him, or if the removal of his arm had.

“Morning Beautiful.” Lance smiled. 

“Is that how you’re going to greet me every time now?” Keith’s vice was husky with sleep.

“If you don’t want me to I’ll stop.” Lance furrowed his eyebrows.

“I was joking…” Keith trailed off. He wouldn’t admit that he liked hearing those words from Lance’s mouth. 

“Did you sleep alright?” Lance asked gently.

Keith had, in fact slept very well. He was exhausted after his story. But he dreamt, which was odd. Even the times he had slept with Lance before he hadn’t awoken to remember dreaming, usually just blissful blackness. It wasn’t about his past horrors, no, it was more domestic. He had dreamt a future with Lance, and he had woken up happy because of it.

“Yeah. Really well. It helps to sleep with someone, to know that there is someone else there for me.” Keith breathed. The longer he spent with Lance, the more he started to realize that secrets, thing he would usually have just kept hidden, fell from his lips. It was comforting to be around him. To be near him. Keith felt he could share anything.

“Just someone? You could replace me?” Lance whispered, averting his eyes from Keith’s face.

“No. Shiro helped a bit, I would awaken from the same dreams, and was able to fall back asleep, but with you it’s different. I sleep through the night. I don’t dream. Or if I do, it’s not the same sound of gunshots ringing through my head.” Keith confessed. Lance seemed pleased at that answer.

“How long have you been up?” Keith asked. He remembered the brush of Lance’s fingers on his face, just as he woke up.

“A while.” Lance said sheepishly.

“You didn’t even wake me up? You’ve been just Laying here?” Keith questioned.

“Don’t be so patronizing.” Lance groaned, rubbing his eyes. “Besides, how could I, you were so peaceful, I would’ve felt bad if I woke you up. And when you sleep you don’t wear that signature frown of yours. Like what you’re doing right now.” Lance pointed out. 

“Still.” Keith grumbled.

“Don’t be like that. If that’s how you look at me every morning, I’m going to start to assume that I’m just horrible and you can’t stand to be around me in waking hours.” Lance teased. 

“Lance, really?” Keith sighed exasperated. 

“Well…”

“I'm getting up.” Keith tried to untangle himself from Lances grasp. Lance didn't hold on, and Keith managed to slide out of the bed. He really felt like he needed to brush his teeth. Not to mention the salt trails down his cheeks, and the slight crustiness of his eyes. From the tears last night. He just wanted to clean up. 

Lance was still laying on his back in bed when he emerged. Resting his head on his hands. He turned to look at Keith. 

“You look less angry now.” Lance chirped. 

“Uh?”

“And now you’re back to being angry.” Lance rolled out of the bed and strutted over to the bathroom.

“What’s it to you?”

“I don’t actually know. Something to bug you about? Besides, you look much prettier without the signature Keith frown.” Lance waved his hand in dismissal. 

Lance left Keith to contemplate that when he closed the door. He wanted to do something, but he wasn’t sure what. He had no other events to occupy himself with today. The day was his. Maybe he would see if Keith was available. THey could do something. That left Lance wondering where their relationship was. They weren’t official, technically. And Lance wasn’t sure what Keith even wanted, if he wanted a relationship. He knew that Keith most likely hadn’t dated anyone since his last terrible boyfriend. But maybe he’d be willing to try again.

He’d emerged from the bathroom as Keith pulled on a shirt. 

“Doing anything of interest today?” Lance asked nonchalantly.

“No.” Keith replied.

“Want to?” Lance asked.

“Is this your way of asking me on a date?” Lance could see that Keith tried to stay serious but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. Lance rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Yeah?” 

“Okay, yeah. Sure. I’m not doing anything today.” Keith smiled slightly.

“Great! Get ready to go. It’s going to start raining again later, so that sucks, but it’s still gonna be great!” Lance was excited. He knew exactly where he wanted to go. It sort of continued on from the art gallery idea. And with an older exhibit closing soon, Lance really wanted to go see. 

“Alright, give me five minutes.” Keith said.

Lance checked the time, they had slept in until ten thirty, so that meant they’d probably get there around eleven twenty if they left soon. Lance was hoping that Keith would enjoy it. Lance didn't think he needed his umbrella. They might be back before the rain started again. 

Leaving Lance noticed that the clouds had started to form over top of them. Lance die hoped that they would make it to where he wanted to be, before the rain started. 

This time they took the bus into the southern part of the city, the part that curved along with the river. Built to flow over the land, up on the higher parts of land alongside the water. This was mostly because the original settlers had been flooded out. They learnt to build on higher ground afterwards. The bus took them down past the inner part of the city, and down into the river bottom. 

The road wound down along the bottom of the coulee. Further along until The building thinned out. The bus stopped, and Lance knew it was a fair walk to the place he wanted to be. Not terrible, but if the skies opened up like they had before the walk would become miserable. 

Keith stepped off the bus in front of Lance. 

“Where are you taking me anyways?” Keith asked mildly, pacing himself besides Lance as they walked. 

“Places.” Lance replied. 

“Like?”

“Trust me. I think you'll like it.” Replied Lance, waving one hand. 

“Okay?”

Lance noticed that Keith started to walk a little closer. And when there shoulders were only inches apart he felt Keith's hand brush his own. Looking over Lance noticed that Keith had gone a shade of pink. Lance smirked and grabbed Keith's hand, intertwining their fingers together. Keith looked at him mildly surprised. Lance just smiled and looked away.

The trail there was paved, and around two kilometres long. Trees gee on the land closer to the river, the terrain upwards shifted from a forested area to rocky structures coming out of the land. The hoodoos in this part of the coulee were impressive, and there was no surprise that it had been turned into a provincial park. And it was lucky that where they were going to, wasn't too far out from the actual city. 

The building seemed to rise out of the coulee. It was situated between two ridges along the bottom of the river, built so it wouldn't damage the aesthetic of the land. They passed a sign. 

“You're taking me to a dinosaur museum?” Keith asked incredulously. 

“Is that a problem? There was something I wanted to see before it closed for the winter.” Lance replied. 

“No no. It's just, a bit surprising. Don't little kids come here?” Keith asked. 

“Yes. But still.”

A stretch of silence.

“I'm sorry if I seemed a little against the idea.” Keith ventured. “I've actually never been to something like this?”

“Really?” Lance was surprised. 

“Yeah. I didn't go to very many museums as a kid. Mostly just on school field trips and stuff.” Keith replied. 

Lance just nodded. He knew enough about Keith to understand why that was. 

They walked into the museum. Through the glass doors. The interior of the museum was made of concrete. Decorated with paintings of life from some many amount of million years ago. Potted trees with benches wrapped around them were filled with small groups of people. This late in the season it wasn't too busy. 

Walking up to the desk, they were met by a man not too much older than them. He was really polite towards them both. Nodding and smiling while Lance asked about one of the exhibits and paid their entrance fee. The man waved them towards the door going into the first part of the museum. 

Now the difference between Lance and Keith was that Lance was more the person to go through without reading the huge signs explaining things about the exhibits. And Lance found it very difficult to just let Keith read all the signs, let him look at all the exhibits. Lance took to fidgeting if Keith was taking too long. 

“Lance, are you in a hurry or something?” Keith laughed as Lance pulled him away from a glass case with ammonite in it. 

“No.” Lance pouted. 

“You seem to be.” 

“I just don't like standing still.” Lance shrugged. 

“Bored of me already?”Keith frowned. 

“No. More like ADHD.” Lance replied meekly. 

“Really?”

“Yeah. It's not bad. Just there. I had some difficulty with math and stuff.” Lance replied. 

“And you're writing a novel?” Keith asked incredulously as they moved on to another exhibit, through another winding room. 

“I can focus on things I find interesting.” Lance replied. 

“Huh.” 

They walked into a new room. The path twisted around displays of life-sized dinosaurs, locked in battle, or by themselves. They were all displayed in their correct biome, plants crowding besides the path. Some skeletons were displayed besides. A skeleton of a mosasaurus hung from the black steel beams of the ceiling. 

“This is my second favourite part.” Lance grinned at Keith. 

“Understandable. What's your favourite?” Keith asked craning his neck to look at the skeleton hanging from the ceiling. Some other small fish like dinosaurs were displayed by it.

“My first favourite is the ocean exhibit, we’ll be heading there next.” Lance pointed towards a pair of double black doors before them. “But the new exhibit at the end might rival it. We'll see.”

“What is that one?” Keith asked curiously. 

“You didn't see the sign coming in?” 

“No?”

“Okay! Then it's gonna be a surprise.” Lance exclaimed. Keith smiled back at him and pulled him along. 

“Thought you liked reading the signs?” Lance asked as Keith tugged him past the explanations for the displays. 

“I do, but right now I'm more interested in seeing your favourite exhibit.” Keith smiled slyly.

“Oh.” Lance might've started blushing.

The black double doors opened automatically, leading them into a glass tunnel, dimly lit blue, to look like the floor of the ocean. 

Lance really liked looking at the ancient sea life, the fish hung from invisible wires besides them, a life sized megaladon to their right. The corals and other ancient sea animals positioned under the glass tunnel, on the ‘seafloor’. The sounds of under the ocean, projected out to them through invisible speakers. 

“This… is actually pretty amazing.” Keith said looking around. 

“I know right! It is my favourite part for a reason.” Lance grinned back at him. 

The walk through the winding tunnel was short, but sweet. 

“Remind me to take you to an aquarium next time.” Keith laughed as they reached the end. Lance's heart fluttered. ‘Next time.’

“I'd actually love that.” Lance smiled warmly. 

At the end of the tunnel another pair of black doors opened automatically again. This led into another dark lit room, a sign illuminated by two spot lights read   
‘Space, as Seen 4 Billion Years Ago”.   
Projectors set up on tables and under boxes lit up the walls and roof with scenes of the night sky. The museum here was quiet. Soft music played, setting the scene. 

“Wow.” Keith breathed. Lance grinned at him. 

“Let's go take a closer look.” Lance suggested and pulled Keith along into the maze of walls illuminated by photos of galaxies and planets. A video projection that Lance and Keith stopped for showed the formation of earth as seen from space. 

They paused for another short video, a time lapse of space seen from earth. Planets that shine bright at first dulled, light pollution spreading, washing out the starlight. 

“A shame.” Keith muttered after the video started again. 

“Yeah. Space probably really only looks cool from space.”

“I wanted to go to space when I was little.” Keith stated. 

“I did too. But my eyesight never complied with that dream.” Lance muttered. 

“Well I especially can't now. My hip.”

Lance just nodded. He wasn't sure what to say. 

Eventually they walked into a painted black domed room with a small bench in the centre. Keith and Lance walked in. The projections on the walls highlighted blue and red galaxies, merging into purple ones. Some familiar constellations were bright spots on the wall. They walked into the centre of the room. This room displayed Earth's skies without light pollution.

“Imagine if the city just went dark.” Keith murmured looking around. Lance let go of Keith's hand so that he could walk around. Lance sat down. 

Lance enjoyed how Keith ran his hands over the wall, the light projecting onto his skin, speckling his body with stars. Keith looked so serene. So ethereal. With galaxies spread across his skin. Lance took his time just to watch. 

When Keith's fingers left the wall he walked back towards Lance. He sat down heavily besides Lance. Breathed out heavily, and closed his eyes.

“Keith…” Lance ventured. 

“Hmm.”

“Go out with me?” Lance asked somewhat sheepishly. Keith's eyes snapped open. He looked towards Lance, with wide eyes. 

“What?” 

“I uh… If you didn't want to, I understand. I just thought… I’d ask?” Lance stuttered. 

“Oh, I, no. I was just surprised?” Keith might've been blushing, Lance couldn't tell because of the dimly lit room. 

“Okay?”

“Yeah. Yes. I'll date you.” Keith smiled sheepishly. Lance just smiled back moving a little closer. 

“So are you going to kiss me..?” Keith murmured. 

Lance closed the distance to press his mouth against Keith. Keith responded in kind, and Lance forgot about his aversion to public displays of affection. 

Lance but Keith's bottom lip gently, in turn receiving a soft sound from Keith. Lance felt Keith part his lips gently, he obliged and was met with a new experience, a new taste that was signature to Keith. He felt electric, sparking where Keith's hands ran over him. Lance only drew back when he needed to take a breath. 

“I don't really think a museum is the best place for a makeout sesh…” Lance started. 

“Maybe. But I don't regret it.” Keith grinned wickedly. 

“Ughhh, is this how you are?” Lance groaned. Keith just shrugged. 

“Having regrets?”

“Never.”

They got up and left the space dome, not spending too much time going through the rest of the museum. In the foyer of the museum the skylights showed that clouds had started to cover the sky again. 

“I knew it was going to rain. I didn't bring my umbrella.” Lance muttered. 

“Tragic.” Keith seemed like he couldn't care less. 

“We should probably leave before it starts raining again.” Land pointed out towards the sky. Keith nodded. 

The wind had picked up outside. Cold gusts whipped Lances hair around his face, Keith seemed to be having a harder time, constantly brushing his longer hair out of his eyes. The first rain drops started falling halfway back to the edge of the city. This late in the fall Lance couldn't tell if it was just rain, or if there was snow mixed in. The icy drops stung his skin as they hit him. 

“C’mon, hurry, I'm not in the mood for getting soaked and cold again.” Lance grabbed Keith's hand again and tugged him a little faster along the path. Keith seemed unusually quiet. 

“Hey, something up?” Lance asked gently. Keith looked startled at the question. 

“Oh. It's not really anything. I'm just a little unsure. I haven't dated anyone since the incident…” Keith responded honestly. 

“You didn't have to say yes..” 

“No. I wanted to. It's just that it'll take me a little to wrap my head around the ‘normal’ relationship thing.” Keith replied. 

“That's alright, I can understand.” Lance nodded. Another brief moment of silence.

“Thank you.”

It was so quiet Lance wasn't sure if he had actually heard Keith say it. He didn't know what Keith was thinking, or if he even wanted this as much as Lance did. The latter thought made him nervous.  Lance hoped that Keith wasn't just doing this for his own sake. 

Luckily the rain didn't truly start until they had made it back into the city. This edge of it was more of a town, eventually connected through expansion. And since the road led up to the interpretive centre there were a few small shops along the road, probably kept busy by the stream of tourists that came through.

They waited around fifteen minutes for the bus, making small talk about the weather and their own classes. 

“I don't have to teach dance tonight. But I was thinking about going in later to practice. I haven't got much good excessive in for a little while now.” Lance started. 

“Right. You teach. How is that going?”

“Pretty good. We're well into the choreography for this years shows. The kids like it.” Lance enjoyed being around his classes. 

“As long as you're not teaching them the wrong things…” Keith smirked. 

“I can correct. It's just that sometimes gongs get lost in practice. In theory I know what I'm doing.” Lance stuck out his tongue at Keith. 

“Maybe you should show me what you've been working on.” Keith suggested. 

“You'd want to see them?”

“Yeah. I like to watch dance. Even if I can't actually do it myself.” 

“Well. If you want to.”

“And I can bring my sketchbook. I can work on that project that I kinda need to start.” Keith said sheepishly. 

“You should probably do that.”

“Probably.”

“But yeah. If you really want, you can come up after the last class ends. I have a key to the studio, even if it is mostly left unlocked until they close up the university.” 

“Okay, thanks for letting me. And Shay also really enjoys it.” 

“Shay is awesome to have around.” Lance stated. 

The bus arrived soon enough. The drive back to the university was filled with talk about what they were doing in their own art programs. Lance even felt compelled to tell Keith a little about his novel he was working on. He didn't usually tell people about what he wrote.

The run from the bus stop to the University was expectantly, cold, wet. Lance and Keith were both soaked by the time they got back. Lance just laughed about it. Despite the chill of his skin he felt warm. 

“Hey. Was that okay?” Lance asked as soon as they got back into the dorm.

“Yup. Totally worth it! The space thing was awesome to. That was my favourite part.” Keith exclaimed. 

“I think that that exhibit might rival my top list. I think I might place above the ocean exhibit.” Lance paused. “Maybe not. The ocean exhibit was still the best.” 

Lance peeled off his wet jacket and hung it on the coat hanger. His shirt was sticking to his skin, it was soaked too. The rain here was harsh. Lance noticed that Keith's shirt also clung to his skin. Along the planes of his abs and chest. Damn. Lance swallowed and looked away. He wasn't sure why he was trying to be decent at this point. They were dating. 

“I'll get ready. We can get some food and go work on our respective arts, after we get some food?” Keith asked. 

“Yeah. Sounds good.” Keith turned and grabbed some clothes to change into.

It was official. 

They were dating. 

Keith was his boyfriend. 

Lance tried to hide the goofy grin that he knew spread across his face. He hadn't felt this happy in some time now.


	12. A Time to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Kryptonite desire, set my heart afire..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to apologize a thousand times over for the lack of updates... I've been super busy, I haven't had enough time to write. But here I am, with a chapter, and most of my previous occupations out of the way. I am also going to say sorry again, because I think this will be my last actual chapter. There will be an epilogue, so don't worry. Also! I'm going to start another fic right after this one, Klance as well, because Voltron is my shit. More details to come!

The bathroom tiles were cold against Lance’s toes as he stepped into the small room with a change of clothes. It took him a short amount of time to peel off his cold and soaking garments and replace them with warm and dry ones. Something suitable to dance in. He had grabbed one of his blue tanks, and only noticed when he put it on that it was not in fact a tank top, but a crop top. Lange decided that that was fine, he pulled on his favorite black sweats that seemed to shape his legs pretty well. He decided that monotone black was fine when he pulled on a black hoodie overtop. Keith had waited for him to finish, and apparently had decided to take off his wet shirt, and Lance couldn’t pry his eyes. 

“Done? Let me change real quick.” Keith said standing up. The smooth muscles under his skin rippled as he moved. Lance was beyond trying to hide how smitten he was. Maybe he would never get used to seeing Keith shirtless. Lance just nodded turning away quickly, even though he was sure Keith noticed how his eyes ran over his toned body, how his cheeks had tinged pink. 

Keith took about as much time as Lance. He walked out rubbing a towel through his hair. 

“Maybe you should cut it.” Lance suggested. Keith raised one eyebrow at him.

“It would dry faster. Besides the mullet is a little outdated.” Lance shrugged.

“Fuck you. I do as I please.” Keith rolled his eyes.

“Whoa, just a suggestion.” Lance smirked and raised his arms in mock surrender. 

“Let’s not talk about how I choose to style my hair.” Keith suggested turning away to dump his wet clothes in a bag. 

“Okay. How about we go get food now, the cafeteria will have supper right about now.” Lance suggested.

“Yeah, good plan, that last adventure took a lot out of me.” Keith stated, absentmindedly rubbing his hip, he had been walking a lot today, and even if he didn’t have his nightly jog he was still a little sore. 

Lance’s stomach sank. “Oh shit. I forgot. I shouldn’t have made you walk that much. Sorry.” Lance apologized. He ran his hands through his hair.

“No, no. It’s fine. I jog recreationally anyways. It’s not bad.” Keith stepped towards Lance and reached out to take hold of his wrists. “So stop making that face.” Keith added and smiled softly at him.

“What?” 

“You pout, I’ve noticed. When you’re nervous or worried it seems.” 

“I don’t…” 

“Yeah you do.” Keith shook his head and pulled Lance a little closer to him. “But, if it makes you feel any better, I think it’s cute.” Keith was rewarded with a flush that flooded through Lance’s cheeks, creeping up the back of his neck. Keith let go of one of Lance’s wrists, and tugged him a little closer until they were chest to chest.

Lance had taken to stubbornly looking at the floor. That was until Keith let go of one of his wrists to run two fingers along the line of his jaw, and then to tilt his chin up. Lance’s eyes locked with Keith’s. They raged a deep grey flecked with purple. A whole alien world with ocean storms and purple skies. He knew he could get lost just staring into those eyes. Keith leaned in a little, and Lance took the liberty of closing the gap. 

He would never get over the feeling that flooded through him each time their lips pressed together. Soft tingles of affection and admiration flowed through Lance. Keith deepened the kiss, Lance opened his mouth at the feeling of Keith’s tongue. There was the taste again, something distinctly Keith, something familiar. Something that felt like home, and tasted like desire. And god help him, as he couldn’t control the little breathy moan that escaped him. Keith paused for a moment, Lance had never made a sound like that before. He felt his face heat. Keith didn’t pull away, but instead renewed vigour.

Lance felt Keith’s tongue trail over his teeth, tickling the roof of his mouth, brushing over his own. Lance responded in kind, something about swapping spit that should have been gross really wasn’t. Keith was the one to break the kiss.

“Maybe we should actually go eat.” Keith breathed.

“I hate to say, but you’re probably right. Even if I’m pretty sure I could kiss you all night long.” Lance stepped away and winked, and was rewarded by the blush forming over Keith’s cheeks. 

“You, can’t just say things like that!” Keith spluttered.

“Why not, you are my boy-friend.” ance accentuated the title. 

Lance grinned. Keith didn’t say anything, he just stared at the floor, face red. Lance thought it was endearing as hell. 

“Come on, let’s go.” Lance grabbed Keith’s hand and tugged him out of the dorm room. They made their way down to the cafeteria. People mingled at tables, chatting amongst themselves. Lance spotted Pidge and Hunk in the crowd. Lance Pulled Keith along with him, towards the table with his friends. He waved at them as he approached, catching their attention. Hunk smiles warmly, Pidge briefly looks up to acknowledge their approach. 

“Hey guys!” Lance chirps. 

“Hey. Hi Keith.” Hunk greets. Lance looks over to see that Keith looks slightly awkward, staring down at his feet. 

“Hi. Pidge, Hunk.” Keith nods at both of them before going back to stare at his feet. 

“So are you two dating?” Pidge doesn’t surprise Lance with her bluntness.

“Yup.” Lance said popping the ‘p’. “This is my boyfriend Keith.” Lance grins at them and then at Keith. Keith seems even more surprised at his forwardness. Lance didn’t feel any need to hold back his feelings anymore. Lance wasn’t uncomfortable with relationships, he had dated many people before. But then again Keith was different than his usual girlfriends. The PTSD was new as well. Lance gave Keith’s hand a reassuring squeeze. He smiled gently, Keith returned it, hesitantly, but still. 

“We’re gonna go get food.” Lance told them. “Be right back.” 

He had taken to leading Keith around, he didn’t know if he minded.

“Hey, if anything makes you uncomfortable, just let me know.” Lance said gently. Keith locked eyes with him. He shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. I’m not used to this. My Last boyfriend didn’t like to show me off. It’s different. Might take me a little to get used to it.” Keith explained. Lance nodded.

“Good to know. I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable. Please feel free to share if anything bothers you.” 

“Thank you.” Keith murmured.

The line wasn’t long, and it only took them a small amount of time to grab some food. They used their food coupons, included in their dormitory rent package thing. Lance wasn't to sure on the proper terminology for it.  Tonight’s meal included an alfredo pasta with chicken. Lance thought it didn’t look to bad. Especially for cafeteria food. It smelled pretty good too. 

Pidge and Hunk had made room for them at the table when they mhad returned. Lance sat down besides Keith on one side of the table. THey had let go of each other’s hands to grab their trays, and only when they were seated did Lance feel Keith reach out for him again. They wove their fingers together. Lance was right handed, and his left was occupied, so it wasn’t terribly hard for him to eat. However Lance was pretty sure Keith was right handed as well. He was using that hand to hold Lance’s. But to his surprise Keith picked up a fork with His left and began eating.

“Wait, are you left handed?” Lance asked suddenly. Keith raised one eyebrow at him. 

“Not really. I just ended up learning how to do things with my left. I thought it was cool to be left handed. So now I’m sorta ambidextrous.” Keith shrugged. Pidge looked up at him.

“What really?” Pidge asked surprised. 

“Yeah…” 

“That’s pretty cool. I wish I could.” Pidge sighed and looked down at her left hand. 

“Thanks?” Keith tested. Hunk laughed, and Lance was staring with wide eyes.

“Take it. That might be the only compliment you’ll ever get from Pidge.” Hunk laughed. Lance was gaping at him. 

“Pidge what the fuck! You never compliment anyone!?” Lance exclaimed gesturing wildly with his free hand. Pidge just shrugged and went back to sketching on her tablet. 

“Is it really that rare?” Keith asked. 

“Yes.” Hunk and Lance stated unanimously. 

“You've been blessed...” Lance murmured shaking his head. Keith chuckled at that. 

“So Hunk. How's Shay?” Lance asked winking. Hunk nearly choked on his drink. 

“Fine.” Was his simple reply.

“Just fine?”

“Yes.”

“I was thinking about asking Allura if we could have a movie night at her place tomorrow…” Lance trailed off. 

“And you probably want me to invite Shay.” Hunk sighed stabbing a noodle with his fork. 

“Absolutely! Something tells me she'd like that.” Lance continued. 

“Fine.” Hunk replied. Lance rolled his eyes smirking. 

“The true ‘F’ word.” Lance said waving one hand. Pidge scoffed at him. 

The university was quiet, few people were around. Lance knew there wasn't any classes going on in the dance studio as he led Keith up. Keith had taken to simply following him complacently. Lance knew he didn't mind, but the difference between this Keith, and the one he had originally met was shocking.

“I want to grab my sketchbook. I left it in the art room.” Keith told lance.

“Yeah. Okay. Good plan.”

The art studio was mostly dead, lights still on, there were only two people sitting doing work. Keith let go of Lance’s hand to go collect his things that he’d need. Lance leaned against the doorframe waiting for Keith to come back. He only took a few moments and when he came back he was holding several different pencils in one hand, and a sketchbook, larger than the one he usually had, slung under his arm. 

“Ready?” Lance asked. Keith nodded his assent. They made the short trip down to the dance studio. The last class had ended just under half an hour ago, and luckily there were no stragglers that would sometimes hang out in the dance studio. Lance unlocked the door and stepped in. The cool wash of air flowed over him, they must’ve left the AC on. Lance decided that it wouldn’t be a problem, dance usually left him hot and sweaty anyways. 

“You can go set yourself up. I’m just gonna plug in my phone and stretch out a bit.” Lance suggested.

“Yeah, okay.” 

Lance stepped over to the speaker and flipped open his phone. His warm-up playlist was the first on the list of most recently played. He hit shuffle, turned up the volume, and strutted to the centre of the room. Actually strutted. For two reasons, it was a difficult enough activity used to warm up, and also because it’s really hard not to strut to Britney Spears. He made eye contact with Keith briefly, long enough to watch him roll his eyes. 

“I vote we don’t listen to this.” Keith shouted out.

“Nope. My house, my rules.” Lance stuck out his tongue at Keith before lowering himself into a deep lunge. 

“Not a house.” 

“Whatever. Besides, it’s not like your music taste is much better than mine.” Lance shifted to the other leg.

“My music taste is great!” Keith retorted indignantly.

“Sure babe. Whatever you say.” Lance flashed a smile at Keith. Lance lowered himself into his splits. He leaned forwards to flatten himself against his leg in front, before curving up and bending backwards to grab his other ankle. He started to move. 

“No wait, hold that.” Keith demanded. 

“It’s difficult.” Lance whined but held the position. 

“Dance is generally difficult.”

Lance harrumphed, but held the stretch regardless. 

“Kay, good.” Keith said, and Lance moved into his middle splits.

“Ugh. I wish my hip flexors were that great. It took me so long to be able to do that.” Keith muttered.

“It’s a gift. No, I had to work for it.” Lance’s voice was muffled as he had his forehead against the floor. 

“Did you consider joining a company?” Keith asked him suddenly.

“Yes. But I didn’t like that it took away my creative freedom. I had also only briefly considered dance as a career anyways.” Lance explained.

“I wish I still had the option.” Keith said bitterly. 

“I’m sorry for mentioning it.” 

“No. It’s alright. It just still stings a little.” Keith smiled weakly at Lance. “You know you’re not a very good reference if all you do is stand there.” 

Lance raised both hands. “Alright. Give me a moment to get my music.” 

Lance opened up the single and put it on repeat. He stretched a little, and tried a few new moves until the part where he had stopped choreographing started. When it did he got right into it. But something wasn’t clicking in his mind. Nothing he tried felt right. Lance frowned. He listened to the song twice more, pausing so Keith could draw some poses, and so that he could correct him. But the more time went on, the more Lance got bored. Finally he walked right over to the music player and shut it off. He ran one hand through his hair, a thin sheet of sweat covered his body. He was still wearing his hoodie. 

“Why’d you stop?” Keith asked.

“Nothing felt right. I think I’ll just drop this song for now.” Lance explained.

“Will you work on something else now?” 

“No. I don’t really want to.” Lance replied frustrated slightly. 

“Are we done?” Keith paused before adding, “I didn’t get much one.” He stared at his sketchbook.

“No. I just don’t want to try choreographing anymore. Sometimes I like to dance without set steps.” Lance stared down at his phone for a bit, at the different places. His EDM playlist looked appealing. He hit shuffle. He walked into the centre of the floor, and started to work on a few things. He did a few jumps, paused a few times for Keith. Did some poses, some connecting steps. Keith drew quietly. Lance noticed that he rubbed his bare arms when he wasn’t drawing. 

“Cold?” Lance asked.

“Just a bit. It’s fine.”

“Dude, you’re shivering.”

“I didn’t bring a coat. And I didn’t know that the AC in here worked overtime.” Keith said rubbing his hands together.

“Dance studio. If you move enough, you get hot.” Lance winked. “But if you’re really cold you can have my hoodie.” Lance suggested.

“Actually?”

“Yeah, it’d be classically couple-y.” Lance grinned at him, he reached to the waistband to pull the sweater over his head, he tossed it at Keith. Feeling the chill set over his skin he started moving again. Swaying his hips to the beat, moving his arms like he would clubbing. He had his eyes on Keith the whole time. Watching his reaction as soon as he pulled off the extra layer. How his eyes widened as he took the sight of what Lance was wearing in. Despite the chill, and how bare he felt because of the crop top, suddenly he felt hot. 

Keith had set his sketchbook down, and hadn’t moved to put the coat on. Lance watched as a red flush creeped up the back of Keith’s neck, how he licked his lips, bit on his bottom lip. Maybe Lance imagined it but he swore he heard Keith whisper ‘Damn’ under his breath. Lance set another wink his way, and at that Keith broke eye contact and moved to pull his sweater over his head. 

And then the song that was playing merged into another. It felt familiar, but not in a way that Lance had listened to it many times before. No. It was more like a connection to something more forgotten. It bugged him. He looked up trying to remember why it felt so familiar.

“Oh my god. You still don’t remember?” Keith asked exasperatedly. Lance looked back at him. Keith sat cross legged, leaning slightly forwards. Lance’s hoodie was too big for him, it covered his hands set on his knees. 

“No? I’m missing something. I know that.” Lance racked his brain in search of what he was forgetting. 

“The club?” Keith suggested. “You were with Allura?” 

“Wait.” Lance stopped dead and narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend. “You were there?” 

Keith smiled slyly at him. He moved to stand up. 

“Should I help you remember?” 

Lance almost had a heart attack when he watched Keith strut, literally strut, towards him. And wow. It was amazing. Suddenly something clicked into place. The memories came flooding back. The club, the dances. The dance-off to be specific. 

“Something tells me it’s coming back to you…” Keith was so close, his breath tickled down Lance’s neck, sending shivers through him. Keith was swaying to the beat, and Lance was dead still. Keith’s hands made contact with Lance’s waist sending a jolt through him. Keith’s hands were hot, to Lance’s surprise. And the skin on skin contact was overwhelming. Lance could feel the fire race through his veins at the contact. 

“Are you just going to stand there looking dumb?” Keith taunted him.

“Fuck no.” Lance basically growled, reaching out to wrap his arms around Keith. “Maybe I’ll actually be able to remember this time.”

He grinned, and they started moving. Bits and pieces of the original memory were still lost, but the way they were dancing now made up for all of that. Keith’s moves were slow, strong, sexy. Soon they moved into a more complex pattern. At one point Lance span away from Keith, he moved his hips to the music, beckoning keith to come closer as he swayed with the rhythm. 

“Did I ever tell you that I like the way you look when you do, that…” Keith’s eyes flicked from his face down.

“My hips, like Shakira? I think it was actually Shiro who stated it for you…” Lance raised one eyebrow at Keith.”

“Mmm.” Keith moved to pull lance back to him. 

The dance flew along with continued fluidity. They moved in sync, Lance started to merge more complex thing into the dance, Keith followed along easily. Lance was lost. Lost in the rhythm, in the movements to the song. They locked eyes, Lance’s breath hitched. Keith was shining, his hair sticking to his face in some places, he glowed with a light layer of sweat. He puffed short breaths, and when particular parts of the song played he would close his eyes every now and then, long lashes fluttering against his cheekbones. Lance concentrated on committing this scene to memory. 

They way they moved together had Lance burning up. The way Keith would run his hands along Lance, the way he would pull him closer. Fingers trailing over the bare skin around his midriff. Sometimes reaching to play along the waistband of his sweats. Keith reached his arms around Lance’s back, and pulled him to his chest, the song switched, something quieter was playing. They swayed slowly to the new rhythm. Lance leaned his head back, and he could feel Keith’s hair tickle his jaw. Hot breaths on the back of his neck.

“Damn. You’re just playing with me now…” Lance breathed.

“Maybe.” Keith murmured. 

“I love it anyways.” 

Lance felt Keith nuzzle into his neck. He breathed a sigh of content. They were standing still now, and Lance couldn’t remember when they had stopped. Lance’s chest heaved from exertion, and he could feel that Keith was tired as well. They didn’t move from their position until the song ended and their breathing evened out. 

“Lance… I hate to break the moment, but I really need to sit down.” Keith muttered, and Lance felt him shift his weight over to his other leg. 

“Shit. I’m sorry.” Lance swore. They sank to the floor. 

“You really should stop apologizing for things that aren’t your fault.” Keith scolded him.

“But…”

“No. It was my decision to do this. I knew the consequences. And fuck it. I have no regrets.” Keith interrupted it.

“I shouldn’t have let you…” 

Keith silenced him by pulling Lance to him, and crashing their lips together. These kisses were clumsy, wet, and they were fucking hot. Lance felt the fire spike through him again when Keith uttered a breathy moan. 

Hands roved over bodies, along backs, sides, up along chests. Lance ran his hands up to Keith’s neck, and curled his fingers through the soft black hair. Keith uttered a more gutteral sound.

Lance felt hands run along, under his crop top, playing with the waistband of his pants again. Until suddenly the contact was broken when Keith shoved him away. 

“No. If we keep going, things are gonna happen. And I’m sorry, but I don’t really feel like being walked in on.” Keith looked up at lance through his lashes. “And as fucking hot as you look in that damn crop top, I don’t really feel like pulling it off here.” Keith’s voice was husky, and at those words Lance tried not to choke on his breath. 

“Yeah… Yeah. Right. Let’s go.” Lance stuttered and basically jumped up. He helped Keith to his feet. They took no time collecting their things. And even less to make their way down to the dorm. 

Keith pushed Lance through the door as soon as he unlocked it. The room was still dark, only illuminated by the faint light coming through the window. 

“They put people of the same sex in the same rooms. Apparently they don’t account for gays.” Lance joked.

“Shut up.” Keith silenced him with another messy kiss. He shoved Lance down onto the bed. Keith pulled off Lance’s sweater along with is shirt in one smooth movement. He moved closer and planted a kiss on Lance’s lips. Keith moved over top of lance until he was straddling him. Keith leaned back to grab the hem of Lance’s crop top.

“Now we can get rid of this…” 

Lance complied and helped Keith move the material over his head. THe shirt was lost on the floor along with other articles of clothing. 

“Do you have…” Lance trailed off. Keith understood what he meant. 

“Top drawer.” Keith gestured to his night stand. Lance nodded. 

Land pulled off his sweats and crawled over Keith to help with his jeans. 

“Wait.” Keith whispered, stopping lance from taking anything else off.

“Yeah?” Lance asked gently

“My scars…”

“I can honestly tell you that nothing will interfere with how fucking hot I find you.” Lance growled. He watched Keith’s face darken red, Keith nodded. 

“Okay. I’m good.” 

Lance kissed him once on the lips. He then planted a trail of kisses down Keith’s jaw, down his neck, he felt Keith’s back arch when he reached a certain spot on his neck. Lance had time. He pressed tongue to the spot, Keith shifted again. Lance spent some time, drawing the skin between his teeth, sucking lightly. Keith uttered a more gutteral sound. When Lance felt he had left a bruise large enough that it couldn’t be covered he moved on. Down along the plane of Keith’s chest, down the ridges of his abs.

Lance worked off Keith’s boxers, and stopped to run his fingers along both hips. He felt where Keith’s smooth skin turned into harsh ridges on his left hip. He could feel the scar, a few sizable dips, puckered over with scar tissue. He made eye contact. Lance looked how Keith looked slightly nervous watching him run his fingers over his scars. Lance spent some more time, kissing each scar, waiting for Keith to release the breath he was holding.

“You’re so beautiful.” Lance murmured reassuringly. 

“Enough talk.” Keith demanded. Lance grinned up at him. 

“Whatever you want babe.”


	13. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, it is with mild sadness and mild excitement that I finish this story. I want to thank all of you that have come with me on this journey of around 50 000 words. If it wasn't for your support I might not have even finished it. I'd also like to thank those who would comment about things that they liked, things they thought I could work on. Actually tho, thank y'all. And also a thank you to everyone that gave this fic a kudos. Now. 
> 
> This won't be my last fic. Of course anything afterwards is going to be Voltron Klance inspired, as I have said I've sold my soul to Voltron hell. My heart belongs to this fandom now.

~Five Years Later~

 

“We have to go, the taxi is here. You don’t want to be late to your own book signing do you?” Keith called out.

Lance made his way through the small house and rushed over to the door to pull his shoes on. Keith was leaning against the door waiting for him. Lance stood up.

“Alright, let’s go.” Lance nodded breathlessly. He looked at his fiance, into those stormy grey eyes that had encaptured him the first time he had made eye contact. Keith had his hair pulled back into a ponytail behind his head, he didn’t cut it often much to Lance’s dismay.

“Hold on.” Keith put one hand against his chest stopping Lance from moving out the door. “You can’t go out looking like that. Your tie is crooked, not to mention your hair. And that's coming from me.” Keith joked.  Keith took moments adjusting Lance’s tie, and brushing his hair out of his face. 

“Better.” Lance asked as Keith casually brushed off his shoulders, and then straightened his jacket. 

“Much. Now let’s go. Don’t want to keep everyone waiting.” Keith pulled Lance out the door and locked it behind him. They made their way down the steps of the porch and out to the car that was waiting for them. The spring air ran along Lance’s face, pulling strands of hair with it that tickled his face. Keith almost pushed him into the car, before he hopped in. 

“You know, this would be faster if we could’ve just taken my bike.” Keith tells Lance after giving directions to the driver. 

“Yes. But I’m wearing nice clothes. You don’t just go biking in a suit.” Lance childishly stuck his tongue out at Keith. 

“Still.” Keith smirked at him, before reaching over to grab his hand. 

The sun was nearing the horizon. Lance watched the houses go by, until they made their way into the more downtown district. Tall hotels loomed up above them, some catching the light of the setting sun.

“Keith.” 

“Yes.”

“I’m nervous.” Lance expressed.

“Why? You’re generally really good with people, this is only going to last a few hours. You just have to say hi to a lot of people, go to a formal banquet, chat with your publishers, and then you can spend the rest of the time with me, Allura, Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge. Simple.” 

“Easy for you to say. You’re not doing the meeting.” Lance harrumphed. 

“Have you ever dealt with art critics? Because if you have, you’ll know you have it easy.” Keith shook his head.

“But still…” 

“No buts.”

“Keith…” Lance whined, Keith leaned over and silenced him with a kiss.

“No. You’re going to do great. I’ll be around the entire time if you need me.”

Lance nodded.

The taxi pulled up to the front doors of the hotel. Keith got out first, helped Lance out, and they walked arm in arm, straight into the building. There were people already lined up, they saw Lance, and soon he was flooded with people around him, asking for autographs, about his book coming out. Keith had a hard time not losing him in the crowd. Lance patiently answered some of their questions, before telling the others that they could ask him during the actual signing. 

Lance pulled Keith away from the groups of people and into the room they were supposed to do the signing in. The banquet was to be on the next floor up.

Keith smiled reassuringly at a worried looking Lance. He knew that this was a dream come true for both of them. Lance’s first book published wasn’t terribly popular, but the next one was. Keith knew it was rare for authors to get that sort of recognition, and Lance wasn’t used to the popularity. Neither was Keith. But then again, most of his work was done through the internet. He had accumulated enough followers on his art page, with people asking for commissions, people telling him they liked his work. Before he had drawn scenes from Lance’s book, and those had gained a lot of popularity. This had driven him to start a comic, with Lance’s help. They hadn’t said anything about it yet, but Keith knew they were going to soon. 

“I’m going to find the people. Wait here.” Lance stated breathlessly, patting Keith’s hand, and then leaving him standing around. Keith wandered through the roped lines, waiting for Lance to come back. Soon enough he did.

“Alright, they say that I’m just gonna sit at that table over there, wait for people to come for the signing, chat with each for no more than thirty seconds, and everything should be good. Oh! I also asked if you were allowed to sit with me. They said it’s fine, in a tone that sounded like they don’t want you around, but you can sit with me anyways.” Lance grinned at Keith. 

“Alright.” Keith nodded his assent.

Lance grabbed his hand and led him over to the table. They sat down beside each other and waited for security to open the doors, letting people in. 

Keith thought that Lance did wonderfully. He was smiling and polite the whole time. A few people recognized who he was and asked him for an autograph as well. Keith was happy to oblige. Three hours passed rather seamlessly, and when the last person came and went lance dropped his smile and ran his hands through his hair twice over.

“You did great.” Keith patted him on the shoulder.

“Thanks. Though I just realized that I might actually have to do more of these in different places.” Lance smiled weakly at Keith.

“Yup. Perks of being a minor celebrity.” Keith chirped popping the ‘p’. “And now it’s time to head up to the banquet.” Keith stated looking at his watch.

“I don’t wanna.”

“Sucks. You’re obligated to come. Let’s go.” Keith dragged Lance from his chair, and held out his arm. Lance took it. They walked into the luxurious hotel main lobby where there were people gathered, obviously here for the banquet. Keith immediately recognized Shiro’s tri tone hair cut, and pulled Lance through the crowd to meet them. 

“Shiro! Hey Allura. Guys.” Keith greeted the group of four. They were met with a chorus of hello’s from the group. 

Everyone was dressed so nice, Allura in a shining purple dress, Shiro wearing black with a purple tie to match his wife’s dress. Hunk was in a suit as well, his tie gold, and Pidge was wearing a deep forest green suit as well. 

“Hey guys. Wow, you clean up nice.” Lance greeted, whistling under his breath. He was met with groans and mutters of “really Lance?”.

“Nice to see you guys too. I’m glad you all could make it.” Lance smiled warmly at the group. 

It was rare for them to all be able to get together like this, especially because Allura and Shiro both still danced, but they insisted it was their last year with the company. They were to take over Allura’s father’s dance academy in the coming year. Pidge had a job with dreamworks, and Hunk had dropped out of art school in his second year to pursue engineering. 

“Yeah. For once in a blue moon.” Allura smiled back at him, clutching her husband’s arm. 

“I’m taking time off work.” Pidge stated nonchalantly. “Be glad.” Lance snorted. How classically Pidge.

“I could afford to miss a bit.” Hunk shrugged. 

“How is everything with you two?” Shiro asked, directing to question at Keith and Lance.

“Things are peachy! Though I could live without having to do another signing. Like, I love my fans, they mean the world to me, it’s just that it’s a little much.” Lance shook his head.

“Well you’re SOL buddy. Things are good on my half as well. We’re thinking of announcing the comic soon.” Keith replied.

“Sounds good.” Shiro beamed at them.

Soon the doors opened to the banquet hall and they were all allowed to enter. 

The room was filled with different supporters, publishers, editors, and other guests. They made a speech in Lance’s honour, Lance had to speak a few words, talk with a few people, and then he was done for the night. Free to mingle with whomever he pleased. 

Lance spent most of his time in the company of his friends. Sometimes he felt amazed at the fact that they had all retained such a close friendship, despite being away from each other for long periods of time. He talked with each of them, about their respective jobs. Hunk had been accepted to join the engineering program at The Garrison, an elite school that specialized in space travel. Pidge talked about her work. She told him that they were actually in the process of making another season of ‘Voltron: Legendary Defender’. She spoiled a few things for him when he prodded, but then told him that she could lose her job for saying those. 

The banquet lasted for quite some time. He was glad when they announced that they were almost done for the night. He bid farewell to his friends, they left shortly after. He was left with Keith in a mostly empty room. A few guests had wanted to speak before they left. 

Needless to say, he was exhausted when they were finally allowed to leave. 

They walked out of the hotel, into the cool air of late spring. Keith still held onto his arm.

“Now what.” Keith asked.

“I’m figuratively dead. Let’s go home.” Lance sighed. 

“Better get used to it now. THis is going to start being a more frequent occasion.” Keith prodded Lance in the side.

“Ow. But hey, when that comic comes out you also might have to come to these events with me.” Lance poked Keith back.

“As long as you’ll be around.” 

The city was unnervingly quiet as they waited for their cab to come. Lance took some time to stare up at the moon.

“Keith?”

“Yeah?” 

“I love you.” 

Keith chuckled.

“I love you too.”

Lance locked eyes with his fiance, the love of his life. Against the odds they were here. Through hardships and other misfortune they had made it. But in his head, Lance knew that the adventure had only just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you to everyone for all of your support!


End file.
